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 tax they pay.
As the temperature drops, customers need to keep an eye on their energy bills as the Ofgem energy price cap jumped 10% at the start of October, and will rise again by 1% in January.
Savers will also need to watch out for another Premium Bond cut arriving in the new year, while the self-employed must try and avoid paying their tax bill late or they could be hit with a higher interest rate charge.
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From Bank of England meetings where interest rates are set to self-assessment tax return deadlines and energy price cap announcements, we round up the key dates you need to know about.
JANUARY
1 January - new energy price cap
The new energy price cap will come into effect on New Year’s Day. Ofgem, the energy regulator, sets a new price cap every three months, which applies to households on variable bills. If you're on a fixed energy tariff, you're not affected.
The price cap will rise by 1.2% for January to March, taking the average annual household bill to £1,738. This is £21 more than the current price cap.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, says the increase will "pile on the pressure for older people who didn’t qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment this year".
She adds: "It’s worth bearing in mind that this isn’t a fixed cap on the most you can pay: it’s a cap on prices for the average user. If you burn through more energy, or live in a large or draughty house, you could see prices rise even further."
1 January - Premium Bond cut
NS&I will reduce the Premium Bond prize fund rate to 4% in January. It dropped from 4.4% to 4.15% in the December 2024 draw, and will fall again to 4% in the January 2025 draw.
The move will make Premium Bonds less attractive compared to other savings accounts.
The odds of winning will remain the same at 22,000 to 1, and there will continue to be a pair of £1 million jackpots. However, the number of other Premium Bond prizes will decrease. For example, there are currently 89 £100,000 prizes each month, but from January there will only be 82.
1 January - VAT tax break for private schools ends
This was one of Labour's big manifesto pledges: to end the VAT exemption on private school fees.
School fees will increase by up to 20% after the Christmas break. We look at the tax change in closer detail in: "Are you ready for the VAT hike in January?"
1 January - £2 bus fare cap rises to £3
The single bus fare cap in England will be raised to £3 on 1 January. The Autumn Budget introduced the change to cut the cost of the scheme, while still keeping a lid on travel costs.
The new £3 cap will run until the end of 2025.
31 January - self-assessment tax deadline
People who have to file self-assessment tax returns must do so by Friday, 31 January, 2024. It’s also the deadline to pay any tax owed from that return.
Self-employed workers are also required to make a payment on account - this is an advance payment towards your next tax bill, based on your previous tax liabilities. The first payment must be made by 31 January.
Bear in mind that payments to HMRC can take a few days, so try and complete your tax return at least a few days ahead of the 31 January deadline. Or better still, get it done now, and then you won’t have it hanging over your head during the Christmas break and into January.
FEBRUARY
1 February - alcohol duty freeze ends
Alcohol duty rates that apply to all non-draught products will rise in line with the retail prices index (RPI) measure of inflation at the start of February.
The Autumn Budget introduced relief on draught products in an effort to keep a lid on pub prices.
6 February - first MPC meeting of the year
This is the first meeting of 2025 for the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to decide whether the base rate should be altered.
The MPC has cut rates twice this year, in August and November. The most recent change brings the base rate to 4.75%.
Interest rates are expected to fall further in 2025, although experts say they are unlikely to return to the ultra-low levels we experienced for over a decade after the financial crisis.
MARCH
March - another Budget?
Every year we have at least one big Budget statement delivered by the chancellor. This outlines how well the economy is performing, the financial forecasts for the year ahead as well as any proposed changes to the tax system.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her first Budget statement in October 2024, but there is usually another fiscal statement in the spring too (often in March). We don't yet know if this will be the case in 2025, as the Treasury recently told MoneyWeek that Reeves is “committed to one major fiscal event every year”.
2 March - rail fares rise
Like previous years, the government is freezing rail fares for January and February, meaning the annual rise in regulated rail fares will occur in March.
Normally July's RPI measure of inflation is used to determine the increase in regulated fares the following year. The Treasury has confirmed that regulated train fares in England will increase by 4.6% next year, while the price of most railcards will rise by £5.
It said that the 4.6% increase was one percentage point above July's RPI figure.
The government said: "It's the lowest absolute increase in three years."
20 March - MPC meeting
The second Bank of England meeting of the year will take place on 20 March to decide if the base rate should be changed.
31 March - stamp duty holiday ends
Since September 2022, the stamp duty threshold has been raised from £125,000 to £250,000. The threshold for first-time buyers was also increased from £300,000 to £425,000.
At the end of March 2025, the thresholds will revert back to their old levels.
Experts are predicting a surge in property transactions - and an uplift in house prices - as buyers rush to complete before the stamp duty thresholds fall.
APRIL
1 April - new energy price cap
The energy price cap for the second quarter of the year will come into effect on April Fool’s Day.
According to the consultancy Cornwall Insight, the energy cap is predicted to fall by 1.4% in April, to £1,713.
1 April - changes to household bills
A range of household bills will increase from the start of April.
For example, the average water bill is set to rise by £27.40 to £473. This is a bigger increase than the regulator Ofwat has proposed for the next five years - it suggested bills should rise by an average of £19 a year.
Your council tax could also rise on 1 April. Local jurisdictions with social care duties can raise this by up to 4.99% a year, while others can increase it by 2.99%. Any larger increases require a local referendum.
Car tax will rise in line with RPI. Meanwhile, car tax on electric vehicles will come into effect, and air passenger duty changes will also come into force.
TV licence fees will rise in line with inflation. The annual cost of a standard colour TV licence will rise to £174.50 – an increase of £5 on the current price of £169.50.
The cost of a black-and-white TV licence will also increase, by £1.50 from £57 to £58.50 a year from 1 April.
1 April - National Living Wage and minimum wage rise
The National Living Wage (for those over the age of 21) will rise from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour, while the minimum wage for those aged 18-20 will rise from £8.60 to £10, and for apprentices it will rise from £6.40 to £7.55.
The larger increase for younger people is a step on the road to a single minimum wage for all age groups.
5 April - end of tax year
The 2024-2025 tax year ends on 5 April, so if you’re planning to utilise your entire ISA allowance, the full £20,000 will need to have been paid into your accounts by this date. This includes junior ISAs, which come with a separate annual allowance of £9,000 per tax year.
Remember that the ISA allowance is “use it or lose it” - you cannot roll it over into the next tax year.
Anyone wanting to pay extra into their pension should also try and do this before 5 April, although you can roll any unused allowance forward into future tax years.
Most people can contribute up to £60,000 to their pension pot each tax year and benefit from tax relief. However, those with an annual income of more than £200,000 (including salary and income from savings and investments) or those who earn less than £40,000 a year have a lower pension allowance.
To find out how the pension allowances work, and for information about how to “carry forward” unused allowances into the next tax year, take a look at this article.
5 April - deadline to top up state pension
Workers have until 5 April to make a backdated claim for National Insurance (NI) credits to 2006, and boost their state pension.
While under normal rules you can only fill gaps in NI contributions for the past six years, under a special concession, the government has let people claim back further to between April 2006 and April 2018.
This allowance was meant to end in April 2023 but the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) struggled to cope with demand and its phone lines became jammed. As a result, the deadline was extended to July 2023 and then again to 5 April 2025.
We have lots more information about this in: "Should you buy National Insurance credits?"
6 April - state pension rises
The 2024-25 tax year begins on 6 April. Increases to various state benefits will kick in on this date.
Pensioners will enjoy another above-average boost to their state pension, with payouts rising by 4.1%. Pension Credit will also increase by this amount.
6 April - tax changes
There are a few tax changes that will occur at the start of the new tax year.
Employer National Insurance contributions will rise, as announced by Reeves in the Autumn Budget. The non-dom tax regime will also be replaced, and the furnished holiday lettings regime will be axed.
Perhaps most notably, the biggest difference that people will likely feel is what’s not changing - in other words, the frozen tax thresholds. In years gone by, the tax-free personal allowance often went up each April, but in 2025 it will again be frozen at £12,570. It's due to be held at this level until April 2028. Income tax thresholds will also remain at their current levels.
It’s estimated there will be 2.1 million more higher-rate taxpayers and 350,000 additional-rate taxpayers in five years' time, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility, because of fiscal drag.
6 April - interest rate for late tax payments rises
The interest rate charged on late tax payments will rise to 4% above the Bank of England base rate on 6 April.
The news was buried in a raft of revenue-raising measures in the Autumn Budget. The hike means that if interest rates remain at 4.75%, taxpayers face a penalty of 8.75% on late payments.
This is an increase from the current level of 2.5% above the base rate (giving a total rate of 7.25% at the moment).
MAY
1 May - NHS prescription costs could rise
According to Coles, NHS prescription fees don't rise uniformly or at the same time every year, but they did in May 2024 and April 2023. So, it's possible they'll increase in May 2025.
8 May - MPC meeting
Another Bank of England meeting will take place on 8 May to decide if the base rate should change.
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.
16 September - wage figures
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-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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