BRITS will see a raft of changes to their bills and money from today – from council tax and TV licence hikes to a state pension boost for retirees.
Monday, April 6 is the start of the new tax year, when many of the changes announced by the Chancellor in the Budget come into force.
Rises are normally linked to inflation, but this year households face a perfect storm of bumper hikes to their bills including council tax, phone and broadband, and water charges.
In what is being dubbed “Awful April“, millions of families will be hammered by an extra £1,000 in bill increases, according to some experts.
Here are all the changes hitting your wallet for the 2026/2027 tax year, starting from today:
State pension boost – £575 a year
Retirees will get a 4.8% increase to their state pension from today under the triple lock.
This sees the state pension rise each year in line with whichever is highest out of inflation, average earnings growth, or 2.5%. This year, annual earnings was highest at 4.8%.
The full rate of the new state pension will increase from £230.25 to £241.30 a week – a boost of £575 a year.
Some 12million people receive the full state pension and are in line for the increase.
Meanwhile, the full basic state pension is rising from £176.45 to £184.90 a week.
The age at which people can start claiming their state pension has also risen today, from 66 to 67.
Council tax – up £111 a year
Council tax bills are rising for millions of households by almost 5% from today.
This means the average Band D home in England will have to pay an extra £111 – or £2,392 a year.
But seven local authorities have been handed special permission by the Government to bypass the usual rules and hammer families with increases of up to 9%.
You can find out how much YOUR council tax has risen by using our calculator here.
TV licence – up £5.50 a year
From today, households in the UK who wish to watch any live TV or BBC iPlayer must fork out £180 a year for a TV licence.
This is an increase of £5.50 – in line with inflation.
Free TV licences are still available for viewers over the age of 75 who receive pension credit.
Water bills – up £33 a year
Average annual water bills are rising by 5.4% to £639 – a £33-a-year increase.
However, Severn Trent customers will see a 10% increase, while Sutton and East Surrey is imposing an 11% increase.
It comes despite Britain’s rivers being pumped with sewage and some customers being left without drinking water for weeks.
Phone and broadband – up £67.20 a year
Mobile and broadband typically increase customers’ bills in April to cover additional costs such as inflation and operational costs.
Mobile customers will have to pay around an extra £27.60 per year, while broadband bills will increase by around £39.60, according to polling by YouGov.
However, some suppliers including BT, Virgin Media, Vodafone, EE and Plusnet have frozen prices this year for new customers, so if you switch now you won’t see your bill rise until 2027.
Car tax – up £5 a year
Road tax – also known as vehicle excuse duty – for petrol, diesel and hybrid cars has gone up by £5 from today, to £200.
It’s another blow to drivers who are being clobbered by rising fuel prices at the pumps as the Middle East conflict drives up prices.
Air passenger duty – up to £2 per flight
Holidaymakers will also be hit by added costs to flights this month, as Air Passenger Duty is going up.
The tax is rising from £7 to £8 for domestic economy flights.
For flights to Europe, it goes up by £2 from £13 to £15.
Benefits – two-child cap scrapped + £120 Universal Credit rise
Labour has decided to scrap the two-child cap on benefits from today, in a move that will cost the Treasury an extra £3.5billion.
An estimated 186,000 workless households will receive an extra £6,000 a year in benefits from today, the Tories have warned.
Party leader Kemi Badenoch slammed the policy as “another handout to those on benefits”.
Meanwhile, Universal Credit is also going up, with around 3million families receiving an extra £120.
Stamps – up to 10p
In a further blow to households, the cost of sending letters is also going up again.
From tomorrow, April 7, Royal Mail is hiking the price of a first class stamp by 10p to £1.80, while a second class stamp will go up by 4p to 91p.
