Are you confused about what the 2008 Budget means for you?
We asked Sky News online readers to send in their questions, and got Matt Coward from chartered accountants Blick Rothenberg to provide the answers.
Matt has replied to the most popular queries here .
I am a 30 year old mother of two. My partner earns £21k a year and I earn £5k a year.
We can only aford a holiday once every seven years, we only just scrape together enough money to pay rent and council tax we only have about £60 a week for food, clothing etc. The rest goes on household bills.
So my Q is why is the govenment turning into THE SHERRIF OF NOTTINGHAM and when will we get a ROBIN HOOD to help all those who cant live in the uk any more.
We need help NOT more TAXES. Posted by: Beverly Storey - Norwich.
Beverley has clearly set out the stresses associated with balancing the family budget. However, on the basis of a combined income of £26,000 a year, if you claim all the tax credits you are entitled to, you will be approximately £800 better off in 2008/09.
I am 32 with a 16 month old. My partner works 48 hours a week for £15300pa. I do not work. We run a small 10 year old car. Are we benefiting from the Budget? Posted by: K Smith
If you claim all the tax credits that you are entitled to, you should be about £675 better off in 2008/09 than you are in 2007/08. However, the rise in fuel duty of 2p per litre which goes up in October this year, may cut into this saving later in the year.
My 80th birthday was 2nd Feb 2008. My wife's 76th birthday was 19th Sept 2007. Do we both qualify for the increased winter heating allowance? Posted by: Mr D. Wightman
Each of you will get the increased Winter Fuel allowance (£400 per person for the over eighties, £250 per person for those over sixty). In addition to the increased winter heating allowance, the Budget notes said that an “over eighties” household will receive an extra £100 in 2008/09 to help with fuel costs.
My husband and I arrived in the UK in July 1999, he is General Manager in a Hotel in London and his earnings are around £50,000 per year, we are registered in our Consulate and we considered ourselves as UK residents; as we have been already here for 9 years next july, are we considered non-doms and do we have to pay the £30,000 per year?, if this is the case, considering that we have 3 children under 17 basicaly we can hardly eat at the end of the month. Posted by: Laura, Oxford
Dear Laura, I note that you mention that you are registered with your Consulate; those with diplomatic immunity and members of embassy staff are subject to a special set of rules.
You asked whether you are non UK domiciled. Generally, a person is considered non domiciled in the UK if this country was not your country of domicile at birth or your father’s country of domicile. All non domiciled individuals are affected by the rule changes confirmed in the Budget, taking effect from 6 April 2008.
Assuming that you are not covered by Diplomatic immunity, if you are resident in the UK and non-UK domiciled you will have choice to make about how you will be taxed.
You could either choose to be taxed on a worldwide arising basis, whereby you would be taxed on all your income and gains wherever it arises in the world (subject to relief for overseas tax suffered) or you could choose to be taxed on a remittance basis.
The remittance basis means that you are charged on any income and gains from overseas but only if you remit them to the UK during the tax year. However, those who choose to be taxed on a remittance basis, and have been resident in the UK for over 7 out of the last 9 tax years (as you have), will be subject to the £30,000 annual charge and will lose their personal allowances and annual capital gains allowance, unless the income generated by their foreign income and gains is below £2,000; in that case they can taxed on a remittance basis and keep their allowances. If you have modest amounts of overseas income, the answer is to choose not to pay the £30,000, and pay UK tax on your worldwide income.
What are the implications for people like myself who are on Disability Living Allowance and are counted as being on "Incapacity Benefit" what are the Work Tests that are being proposed and why are the government "persecuting" people like myself who are truly incapacitated and unable to work? Posted by: Alan , Tyne & Wear
Thank you for raising this important issue Alan. Mr Darling announced in his budget that from April 2010, all incapacity benefit claimants will be required to undergo Work Capability Assessments to show that they are unfit to work. This is to ensure that people currently on benefit are in line with all new claimants who from October 2008 will be required to take this test. This is aimed at reducing the number of so-called “bogus” incapacity benefit claims made. The Government has confirmed that the new test should not affect payments to genuinely disabled individuals.
"I am a single parent with one child, working part time on less than £10,000. I have a matrix car and I am on housing benifit. I would like to know how this budget will benefit me. Is it just a case of give with the right hand and take with the left? I do not drink or smoke."
Posted by: Tracy - West Midlands.
Thanks for your question Tracy. You will be better off as a result of child tax credit and working tax credit, but the abolition of the 10% starter rate of income tax will cost you around £2 per week. Overall though, I calculate that you will be around £60 per month better off. This is assuming that you make a claim for all the working tax credits and child tax credits that you are entitled to.
"I currently run a 2004 Ford Mondeo on VED Band F (244g/km), is it right that from next year it will be rebanded to Band L (226-255g/km) with an increase in cost from £210 to £415?"
Posted by: Ian, Manchester.
Ian, you will remain in band F if your car was registered before 23 March 2006, though the annual VED will rise £5.
"I am a UK national expat living and working in Kuwait, with no income tax payable. How will the new tax rules on non-domiciles effect me? I have been out of the UK for one year."
Posted by: Lammers, Kuwait.
There is a difference between domicile and residence. The new rules affect non-domicilaries (generally, those who were born outside the UK). As a UK non-resident, you will however have to watch your days of residence in the UK which are being tightened from 6 April to include travel days into the UK.
"I am a non-dom from the USA. I arrived on 7th April 2001. Do I have another year before I must comply with the non-dom rules?"
Posted by: Diana, Suffolk.
Diana, as you came to the UK in the 2001/2002 tax year, you will have been in the UK for the seven out of the past nine tax years in 2008/2009. You will need to choose between paying the £30,000 annual charge to maintain the benefit of the remittance basis of taxation, or paying tax on your worldwide income and gains. In a long and very detailed memorandum published today, it seems that the £30,000 annual charge will be creditable for US taxpayers.
"What happened to the change to Capital Gains Tax discussed last year and supposedly due to change in April 2008? Is that not happening now?"
Posted by: Jon, London.
The Capital Gains Tax changes are being introduced as announced, with a flat rate of 18% on all gains for disposals after 6 April 2008. This was a real increase in tax on sale of a business, so entrepreneur’s relief is being introduced which effectively charges a 10% CGT rate on business gains up to a lifetime allowance of £1m. All business owners can potentially benefit from the relief, but company owners need to be directors or employees in the company for a year up to the date of sale and have 5% shareholding throughout that period.
"Has the main Capital Gains Tax amount changed at all or is there a sliding scale? I am asking this as I own more than one house so I am specifically interested in this area."
Posted by: J Haigh.
From 6th April 2008, Capital Gains Tax will be set at a flat rate of 18% of all gains over the annual exemption of £9,600; those with second properties will benefit from a lower rate of tax on disposal. Currently the best tax rate on disposal of a buy to let property is 24%, after owning the property for ten years (assuming you are a higher rate taxpayer). That reduces to 18% for disposals in 2008/2009 and onwards.
"My husband gets a private pension of £448 per month and old age pension of £104 per week. He is taxed £46 per month from his private pension. Will he now be better off after the Budget?"
Posted by: Ann, Staffordshire.
Ann, you're likely to be pleased by today’s increase in the winter fuel allowance, which will rise by £50 for the over 60s to £250 per annum and by £100 for the over 80s to £400 per annum. In addition, there are also larger than inflation rises in the personal allowances for those individuals over the age of 65. Your husband should therefore be approximately £150 better off for 2008/2009 if he is under 80 and £200 better off if he is over 80 years of age.
"What will be the higher rate Income Tax level (ie. 40%) for 2008/09?"
Posted by: Mr Yates
This will again be 40% starting on taxable income over £36,000. There will be only two rate bands for Income Tax in 2008/2009, the basic rate 20% and the higher rate, 40%.
"I am under 30, earning around £27k. I own my own apartment, have a small car, no children or partner. How will a normal and yet usually ignored section of our community (those without children) be affected?"
Posted by: Beth, Midlands
In 2008/09 you should pay approximately £230 less tax & national insurance than you will have in 2007/08. A 2p increase in fuel duty per litre of petrol has been postponed for six months. If you smoke, you will be hit by an 11p increase per packet of 20 cigarettes from tonight and you will find that a bottle of wine is up by 14p, a pint of beer is up by 4p and spirits are up by 55p from Sunday.
::Download TaxFax 08/09, Blick Rothenberg's taxation guide, prepared exclusively for Sky News Online
You may have read Claire's account of what it's like to look after her son Noah, who has cerebral palsy.
It's just like the film with Ben Affleck called The Boiler Room:
As high winds and heavy rains batter Britain today we're turning to you to help us put together the fullest national picture possible.
I was woken up by the 
