Nine April 2016 tax changes you need to know about

April 6 – the start of the 2016-2017 tax year is a big day for tax, with several new measures covering pensions and earnings affecting landlords.

Now’s the time to check out your finances in readiness for the day – and to make sure you do not lose out, here’s a list of the changes:

Landlords renting out furnished homes lose the 10% wear and tear allowance. The allowance is replaced with new wear and tear or replacement allowance for all landlords.

The 3% stamp duty surcharge for buy-to-let or second homes worth more than £40,000 in England and Wales also comes into force.

More about wear and tear allowance and the stamp duty surcharge

Rent A Room Relief for householders taking in a lodger rise from £4,250 to £7,500 a year

More about Rent A Room Relief

• The basic and additional state pensions are replaced by the flat rate pension paying £155 a week to all qualifying pensioners. To receive the full payment, the qualifying rules have changed – from 30 years of full working to 35 years.

More about the single-tier state pension

• The annual allowance for pension contributions tapers from £40,000 to £10,000 on tax relief depending on annual earnings. Those earning the highest- more than £150,000 a year – gain the least.

More about annual pension contributions

• The lifetime allowance for retirement savings drops from £1.25 million to £1 million. Retirement savers already exceeding the cap can apply for protection – those that do not make the application will pay fines if their pension funds grow above the lifetime allowance limit.

More about the lifetime allowance

• Tax rates on taxable lump sums paid by Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) as death benefits are slashed from 45% to the recipient’s marginal rate.

More about offshore pension tax rules

• The Scottish rate of income tax comes into force

More about the Scottish rate of income tax

• The personal savings allowance is introduced

More about the personal savings allowance

• The dividend tax allowance is introduced

More about the dividend allowance

This is not an exhaustive list of tax changes for April 2016 – and the date those that affect companies take effect is from April 1.