Household across the UK will see a range of bills increase from today with prices for council tax, mobile phones and more.
Watchdogs and consumer websites have urged Brits to get to grips with financial changes being made in April.
Household will see their water and energy bill increase as well as being asked to pay more for their TV licence under new proposals this coming into effect from April 1.
Rishi Sunak announced a number of changes at the start of March when the Chancellor revealed government spending plans in the Budget for 2021.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of April 1.
Energy bills
Regulatory body Ofgem announced a price hike in energy bills earlier this year with 11million household effected.
Energy customers could see bills rise by £97 per year due to an increase in the energy price cap.
The regulator sets a price cap twice a year to limit how much suppliers can charge customers on standard variable tariffs, depending on wholesale prices.
Ofgem is increasing the current price cap from £1,042 per year to £1,138 for the six month period from 1 April.
A surge in global energy commodity prices has raised the cost of sourcing gas from the wholesale market, leading to an increase in the cap.
BBC TV licence.
The government has announced an increase in the TV Licence price in line with inflation.
From April 1 2021 the annual price of a TV licence will be £159, an increase from the previous price of £157.50.
Meanwhile the cost of an annual black and white licence will rise from £53.00 to £53.50.
Those buying or renewing a licence after 1 April 2021 will pay the new fee. Those already buying a licence on an instalment scheme which started before 1 April 2021, such as monthly direct debit or weekly cash payments, will continue to make payments totalling £157.50 until their licence comes up for renewal.
Mobile phone contracts
Mobile phone contracts will be rising in conjunction with inflation.
Vodaphone, O2 and Three are among the providers contacting consumers to let them know if they are affected by the change.
Broadband
Virgin, BT and Sky are among the companies who will be charging more for their services in April.
Sky has said customers will see an average price increase of £3 per month from today (April 1) when bills are raised.
Broadband prices will rise for Essential and Superfast broadband customers by £3 and £1 per month, respectively.
Council tax
After the government gave the green light to introduce price hikes of up to 5% the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said councils will increase the levy by £1.8 billion.
For example, band D properties will see increases of £50 to £100.
NHS prescriptions increase
Prices will increase for your NHS prescription again, despite calls for charges to be scrapped completely.
The charge of a single prescription item will rise from £9.15 to £9.35 in England from 1 April.
The price of a three-month prescription will also increase by 60p to £30.25, while a 12-month prescription will increase by £2.20 to cost £108.10.
The hike comes after the price was increased by 15p last year, and 20p in both 2018 and 2019. Ten years ago, in 2011, the cost was just £7.40.
Water
Water and Sewerage average household bills in England and Wales are actually set to fall by around £2 per year from April.
According to Water UK, this will take the average household bill from £410 per year to £408.
However, prices will vary depending on where you live with some households set to see average increases of £14 per year.
Car tax
Rishi Sunak announced a freeze on fuel duty in last month’s Budget however drivers will still see changes to the costs for running their car starting from April.
Vehicle Excise Duty - car tax to you and me - will increase in line with RPI inflation from 1 April 2021.
That means annual tax for cars registered on or after April 1 2017 will rise to £155 a year, with a £10 discount for hybrids.
The “premium” tax on cars costing more than £40,000 will also rise to £335 per year for years two to six of ownership.
Tax rates are also increasing for older cars. For cars registered between March 1, 2001, and March 31, 2017, they will rise by £5, £10 or £20 depending on the vehicle’s emissions.
For cars registered before March 2001, they will increase by £5 for vehicles with an engine size of 1549cc or less and £10 for anything with an engine above 1549cc.
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