1. Council tax
A recent survey found that 97% of local authorities plan to increase council tax this year, with three-quarters of them planning rises of more than 2.5%.
2. TV licences
Starting on 1 April, the TV licence fee will rise to £154.50 – a £4 increase on last year.
3. Energy bills
Energy regulator Ofgem introduced a price cap this January, which was originally expected to save households on default tariffs £76 a year. A few months later, Ofgem has raised the cap.
A typical household is now expected to pay £117 extra from April, with some potentially paying more than they did before the cap was introduced. All of the big six energy providers (British Gas, EDF, Eon, Npower, Scottish Power and SSE) have said they will increase their prices in line with the cap.
4. Water bills
Water UK found that water and sewerage bills across England and Wales are set to rise by 2% on average from 1 April. The group says this will leave the average household £8 worse off a year, but the increase will depend heavily on individual circumstances, affecting different customers in different ways.
5. Stamps
The rise in the price of First Class and Second Class stamps will actually come into effect a few days before April, on 25 March. Standard First Class stamps will now cost 70p each, with Second Class stamps costing 61p – an increase of 3p in both cases.
6. NHS prescriptions
NHS prescriptions, which currently cost £8.80 for those that need to pay for them, will rise to £9 on 1 April. Other NHS items, such as wigs, surgical bras and spinal supports, will also increase in price.
7. Car tax
Changes to the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) car tax take effect on 6 April, with some drivers expected to pay up to £65 more. Your VED rate depends on two factors: your car’s CO2 emissions, and when it was registered.
8. Sky TV and broadband
From April, Sky customers will have to pay more for almost all of the brand’s services. Sky Entertainment, Ultimate On Demand, Fibre Max, and Fibre Unlimited packages will all cost £2 more each month, while Sky Broadband Unlimited bills will increase by £1.
9. Mobile network bills
Four of the UK’s biggest mobile networks have announced they will be increasing their prices close to retail price index (RPI) inflation. O2 and Three customers will see 2.5% increases, while EE customers will pay 2.7% more than they did last year.
10. State pension top-ups
If you didn’t pay into National Insurance for a few years – for example, you were off work or overseas – you can opt to pay class 3 contributions to top up your state pension. You’ll need 35 years of National Insurance contributions (NICs) to qualify for the full state pension, either from working or receiving credits.
Until 6 April, the amount you’ll pay for class 3 NICs will differ depending on which tax year they apply to. If you want to plug a gap from 2010/2011, for example, it’ll cost £12.05 per week.
When the 2019-20 tax year begins, all voluntary NIC payments will cost £15 a week, no matter which tax year you are paying for. So if you want to pay for the entire 2010/2011 tax year, it’ll cost you £153.40 more from 6 April.
11. Proposed probate fee hike
The government is currently considering legislation that would change the way probate fees work, making it free for some estates, but hiking prices for others. When a person dies, you need to apply for authorisation to mange their estate – known as applying for probate. Currently, all estates pay a flat fee of £215 for a probate application.
Under the new model, estates worth less than £50,000 would pay nothing. Fees are then charged on a sliding scale – estates worth less than £300,000 would pay £250, while those worth less than £500,000 would pay £750. The fees then escalate rapidly, so that those worth more than £2m would pay £6,000.