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MOST OF WHAT was contained in today’s budget was of course well-flagged, but now that the speeches are done and dusted we can take a look at what it all means for you.

If your income is anything up to €20,000, here’s how things will be affected for you in the coming year.

Income Tax

Rates of PAYE income tax have remained unchanged so not much difference will be seen here.

If you’re self-employed or trying to get a small business off the ground, there has been another increase (though slightly less than what was flagged) in the earned income tax credit of €400.

The rate still lags behind the automatic deduction for PAYE workers of €1,650 however.

Saving: €400 if you’re self-employed

USC

With cuts to three brackets of the Universal Social Charge, you can expect a saving here, regardless of whether you’re PAYE or self-employed.

If you’re earning €20,000, you’re currently paying USC across the top three rates totalling about €393 a year.

Each of these top three rates have now been reduced by 0.5%, while the second cutoff band has been increased slightly to €18,772.

This is now the USC obligation for someone earning €20,000:

• 0.5% on the first €12,012 = €60.06
• 2.5% on up to €18,772 = €169
• 5% on up to €20,000 = €61.40

It means that your USC payments next year will now total about €290.

Saving: €103

• Budget 2017: Here are the main points you need to know

Social Welfare

Not a taxation measure, but social welfare rates have been increased by €5 across the board. So this change will affect things like disability allowance.

Read: Up by a fiver: Social welfare payments to increase by €5 from March

Read: “Not Brexit-proof” – there’s a deal of good news for the self-employed today, but is it enough?