Households across Northern Ireland are set to be hit with bill increases this month for a variety of expenses from car tax to mobile phone contracts.
Dubbed "awful April" due to a series of price rises coinciding with the new tax year, many of us will be paying more for bills and services. In England and Wales, even more bills are set to rise, including council tax, water, and energy bills.
In Northern Ireland, price rises we will see this month include car tax, TV licence, broadband and mobile. Businesses here will also see an increase in employer National Insurance contributions from April 6.
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Here is everything we know about the price rises impacting Northern Ireland.
Car tax
Electric vehicles (EVs) will no longer be exempt from paying car tax from this April. If you buy a new EV after April 2025, you’ll pay the lowest first year rate of vehicle tax of £10 - then from the second year onward, you’ll pay £195 road tax. If your EV was registered between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2025, then you will pay the standard rate of road tax, which is £195 a year from April 2025.
EVs, zero or low emission cars that were registered between March 1, 2001 and March 31, 2017, and emit up to 100g/km of CO2, will pay £20 a year from April. Car tax rates for some other vehicles will also rise, depending on how much CO2 they emit and the year they were manufactured.
TV licence
The TV licence fee will rise from £169.50 to £174.50 a year from April. The price of a black and white TV licence will also rise from £57 to £58.50 a year, an increase of £1.50. You need a TV licence to watch live TV or any shows on BBC iPlayer. If you're caught watching live TV without a TV licence, you can be fined up to £1,000.
If you claim Pension Credit and you're over the age of 75, you're entitled to a free TV licence. Or if you live in residential care or sheltered accommodation, you may be able to apply for a concessionary TV licence which costs £7.50 per room, flat or bungalow.
Students who are living away from home may be covered if their parents have a TV licence, but only if they're watching TV on a device that isn't plugged into the mains, such as a phone, tablet or laptop. If someone in your household is blind or severely sight-impaired, you'll get 50% off the cost of your TV licence.
You can use our new gadget below to see estimates of how much your bills will increase in April:
Broadband and mobile
Broadband and mobile companies must now tell customers in "pounds and pence" how much their contract will rise by each year, instead of linking it to inflation. The idea is that this gives customers more certainty about how much their bill will rise by in the future.
This new rule typically applies to new customers, so if you're on an older contract, you may still find your price rise is linked to inflation.
Broadband deals will also rise from April 1. Regulator Ofcom has advisied that anyone who signs up for a broadband deal from January 17, 2025, will be given a fixed annual price increase. Most broadband providers will increase their fixed rates by £36 a year, although Virgin Media is increasing its prices by £42.
National insurance contributions for businesses
From April 6, Employers' National Insurance Contributions (NIC) will increase from 13.8% to 15%, while the threshold - the point at which employers begin to pay NI on an individual's salary - will be reduced from £9,100 to £5,000. This comes at the same time as the minimum wage will increase, giving businesses an additional price hike.
Colin Neill, from Hospitality Ulster, told Belfast Live the rises are "colossal" and will add an additional £2,500 per head cost for businesses for each 38 hour employee they have.
Stamp Duty
Stamp Duty, a tax that you have to pay when you purchase a property, is rising on April 1. You pay stamp duty based on the portion of the property value where it is chargeable. For example, if you're buying a property for £350,000 and aren't a first time buyer, under current rules, you would pay no stamp duty on the first £250,000, then 5% on the part that is worth between £250,001 and £350,000. This means your stamp duty bill would be £5,000.
However, after April 1, the stamp duty due on this home would jump to £7,500. This is because there would be no stamp duty due on the first £125,000, then you would pay 2% on the part that is worth between £125,001 and £250,000, and 5% between £250,001 and £350,000. You can click here to use our Stamp Duty calculator.
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