Finance Act 2009

Section 3: Income Tax: Personal Allowance for 2009-10 for Those Aged under 65

Summary

1. Section 3 sets the personal allowance for income tax at £6,475 for 2009-10.

Details of the Section

2. Subsection (1)(a) replaces the amount currently in section 35 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (ITA) to set the personal allowance for those under 65 at £6,475.

3. Subsection (1)(b) replaces the amount in section 257 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (ICTA) to set the personal allowance for non-resident Commonwealth citizens aged under 65 at £6,475.

4. Subsection (2)(a) disapplies the requirement under section 57 of ITA to index the basic level of personal allowance in section 35 of ITA for the 2009-10 tax year only.

5. Subsection (2)(b) disapplies the requirement under section 257C of ICTA to index the basic level of personal allowance in section 257(1) of ICTA for the 2009-10 tax year only.

Background Note

6. Individuals, who meet the conditions set out in section 35 of ITA, are entitled to a personal allowance to be set against their income.

7. The provisions in ITA which provide for a personal allowance also provide for the amount, unless Parliament determines otherwise, to be increased annually by indexation. The HM Treasury order of 24 November 2008 (2008 N^o. 3023) which specified the indexed amount for 2009-10 tax year, is overridden by this section.

8. The table below sets out the amounts of the personal allowance for those aged under 65 for 2008-09 and the amount specified by this section for 2009-10:

2008-09	2009-10 by this section
£6,035	£6,475

9. The effect of this section is to override the amount specified by order for the amount of the personal allowance for individuals aged under 65 and set it at an amount £130 greater than the indexed increase.

10. United Kingdom personal allowances are available for non-resident Commonwealth citizens. Section 5 of and Schedule 1 to this Act remove these allowances from 2010-11.

11. The provisions in ICTA which provide for a personal allowance for non-resident Commonwealth citizens also provide for the amount, unless Parliament determines otherwise, to be increased annually by indexation. The HM Treasury order of 24 November 2008 (2008 N^o. 3024) which specified the indexed amount for 2009-10 tax year, is overridden by this section.

12. The effect of this section is to override the amount specified by order for the amount of the personal allowance available to non-resident Commonwealth citizens aged under 65 and set it at an amount £130 greater than the indexed increase.