Your top Google searches on the Budget: Will George Osborne cut...?

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The chancellor has delivered his annual Budget, where he's explained how the government's spending your cash.

George Osborne has announced investment in roads and railways (including a HS3 railway line in the north of England and Crossrail 2 in the south).

There will be £1.5bn to turn all state schools in England into academies and allow some to open later in the day.

But this is a tight Budget with the government planning for local elections in May and the EU referendum in June.

One of the main headlines was the introduction of a sugar tax on soft drinks and there was an extra £3.5bn in spending cuts revealed.

We've answered what we know. This is what you've been searching...

Will George Osborne cut tax credits?

The government's giving people a bit of a sweetener - called the New Help to Save account, which will be launched within the next two years.

They say they're aimed at giving low-paid workers a hand to build emergency funds.

It'll allow those in work and receiving universal credit or working tax credits to save up to £50 a month and receive a 50% bonus after two years, worth up to £600.

Will George Osborne cut welfare and disability benefits?

George Osborne has already announced further squeezes on welfare spending.

The government has already said it'll take another £1bn out of the budget allocated to disabled people.

That's because the formula the government uses to calculate the daily living component of personal independence payment (PIP) for around 650,000 disabled people will change in January.

Image source, Thinkstock

Last week the government also pushed through a £30 a week cut to the employment and support allowance (ESA) for certain claimants (which replaced disability living allowance earlier this month).

The cuts, among many changes contained in the Welfare Reform Bill, will see new applicants' payments reduced from £103 to £73 a week - the equivalent of Job Seekers Allowance - from 2017.

The government has said that that although cutting the lower benefit rate would save £55m in the first year, £60m would be spent to help claimants find work.

By 2020 there are likely to be cuts of an extra £4bn a year.

In the Budget, George Osborne said the Conservative government would spend more in real terms on disability payments than any Labour administration.

Will George Osborne cut carer's allowance?

How it works at the moment: You could get £62.10 a week if you care for someone at least 35 hours a week and they get certain benefits (like Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance).

From this autumn, the government will introduce exemptions for recipients of guardians allowance, carer's allowance and the carers element of universal credit from the household benefit cap.

It caps the amount of benefits out-of-work working-age families can receive at £20,000, and at £23,000 in Greater London.

Will George Osborne cut the top rate of tax?

The chancellor has raised the top tax threshold, when people start paying 40p tax in the pound, to £45,000.

This will cut the amount of tax paid by thousands of well-off families.

The higher rate threshold will come in from next April next year and affects around 500,00 people.

The chancellor says that the government is "increasing spending on disabled people" overall while putting money into infrastructure and skills training, which will make the UK more productive.

Image source, Thinkstock

Meanwhile, tax-free personal allowance will rise from £10,600 to £11,500 in 2017.

The standard rate of insurance premium tax (IPT) is going up by 0.5% - which could mean higher premiums on car insurance plus home and travel insurance.

What about other costs or cuts?

The chancellor has frozen fuel tax.

There could be extra taxes on insurance firms, potentially leading to more rises in insurance premiums.

Beer, cider and whisky duty has been frozen, which could lead to cheaper pints in some pubs, although wine duty goes up by inflation.

Tobacco duty will rise by 2% above inflation from 6pm, with hand-rolling tobacco up by an extra 3%.

Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (self-employed people) are also going to be abolished from 2018 - a saving of about £145 per year.

What is the new lifetime Isa?

Image source, Government

From April 2017, under-40s will be able to open lifetime Isas and save up to £4,000 each year.

Every £4 saved in these new Isas will be topped up by £1 from the government, so if savers put in £4,000, the government will give them £1,000 every year until they reach the age of 50.

Mr Osborne said: "You don't have to choose between saving for your first home or saving for your retirement - with the new lifetime ISA the government is giving you money to do both.

"For the basic rate taxpayer, that is the equivalent of tax-free savings into a pension and, unlike a pension, you won't pay tax when you come to take your money out in retirement."

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