Households should watch out for a raft of personal finance changes happening in 2025, which could affect everything from their energy bills to how much savings rates and mortgages rise or fall by.
We’ve already had a couple of big changes so far this year, such as the energy price cap rising by 6.4% on 1 April, and the Bank of England cutting interest rates to 4.5% at its first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the year.
The Premium Bonds prize fund rate has also been reduced, and the VAT tax break for private schools ended in January.
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We look at what else 2025 has in store, and round up the key dates you need to know about.
MAY
1 May - NHS prescription costs
It had been predicted prescription costs would rise in May, but the government has announced the single item prescription charge for 2025/2026 will remain at £9.90, the first time it has been frozen in three years.
8 May - MPC meeting
The Bank of England's Monetary Police Committee will meet on 8 May to decide if the base rate should change. The expectation is that it will be cut.
We look at whether interest rates will be cut in a separate article.
JUNE
19 June - MPC meeting
Another base rate meeting will take place on 19 June.
30 June - mortgage guarantee scheme closes
This provided a guarantee to lenders who offered mortgages to people with a 5% deposit on homes worth up to £600,000.
JULY
1 July - new energy price cap
The energy price cap for the third quarter of the year will come into effect on 1 July.
31 July - second payment on account
The second and final payment on account for the 2024-2025 tax year will have to be paid by self-employed people by the end of July.
AUGUST
1 August - student fee rise takes effect in England
The maximum fee will rise from £9,250 to £9,535 after being frozen since 2017.
7 August - MPC meeting
Another base rate meeting will take place on 7 August.
20 August - July inflation announcement
The inflation figure for July is important as it is traditionally used to set the increase in rail fares, which takes place the following year.
SEPTEMBER
1 September - rollout of free childcare is completed
The final stage of the government's free childcare policy will be rolled out in September. This will double the allowance from 15 hours of free childcare per week to 30 hours. Parents will be eligible once their child is nine months old.
These are used as part of the triple lock for next April’s state pension.
18 September - MPC meeting
Another base rate meeting will take place on 18 September.
OCTOBER
1 October - new energy price cap
The October to December Ofgem energy price cap comes into effect on 1 October.
5 October - deadline to register for self-assessment
If you’re new to self-assessment, this is the deadline to register with HMRC. This could apply to you if, say, you’ve set up a side hustle to earn money in addition to your PAYE job, or made a profit selling cryptocurrency.
You could also be newly self-employed or a new landlord renting out property. Or perhaps you need to pay the high income child benefit charge.
22 October - September inflation announcement
The inflation figure for September is important as it is used when calculating changes to benefits, the state pension and tax credits.
For example, the triple lock means that each year the state pension increases by the largest of the following three figures: 2.5%, the rate of inflation, or earnings growth. It’s the September inflation figure that is used in this comparison.
31 October - postal self-assessment deadline
Almost half a million taxpayers choose to send a paper self-assessment tax return by post rather than filing it online. If you do this, you must submit it by 31 October.
NOVEMBER
6 November - MPC meeting
The MPC’s penultimate base rate meeting of the year will take place on 6 November.
DECEMBER
18 December - final MPC meeting of the year
The final MPC meeting of the year will take place just before Christmas.
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