Cliff Notes
- From 1 April, households will experience significant increases in council tax, utilities, and communication costs, impacting nearly everyone in the country.
- Many of these price hikes exceed the current inflation rate, compounding the financial strain on households already grappling with cost of living challenges.
- Although salaries will rise, most individuals may face higher tax brackets due to “fiscal drag,” potentially offsetting any financial relief from wage increases.
Cost of living calculator: See how much your bills are going up | Money News
Households across the country face higher bills from 1 April. Use our calculator to find out how you’ll be affected.
Council tax, gas, water and electricity bills, broadband, mobile phone, TV and transport costs are all rising. The increases are being introduced to coincide with the new financial year and are likely to hit the finances of almost everyone in the country.
Many of the increases are higher than the rate of inflation and are coming into effect with households already struggling with price rises and cost of living pressures.
Salaries will also be increasing, but some will gain more than others depending on their rate of salary increase and the amount of additional tax some will be paying as a result of “fiscal drag”, where frozen tax bands bring them over higher tax thresholds.
Greg Marsh, household finance expert and chief executive of household money-saving tool Nous.co, said: “This year’s April price rises are a nasty blow to households.
“The combination of water, energy, council tax and more all rising on the same day adds up to serious money.
“Plus we’re seeing yet more cynical price hikes from mobile and broadband suppliers. The crackdown on inflation-linked increases hasn’t stopped them from charging consumers more.
“With all this going on, it’s crucial none of us is overpaying. Unfortunately, nine out of 10 of us are doing just that.
“At Nous.co, we typically save customers hundreds of pounds a year on bills because they let things slip, and just didn’t realise they were paying far more than they needed to.”
Figures for average bill increases and salary and tax changes were provided by Nous and analysed by Sky News with additional government data.