Brits demand change as MP compelled to debate main tax threshold Reeves referred to as ‘expensive’

A petition urging Chancellor Rachel Reeves to double the income tax threshold for state pensioners has hit 100,000 signatures, triggering a parliamentary debate ahead of the March 3 Spring Statement

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A campaign calling on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to double the income tax threshold for state pensioners has seen a surge in support. A petition has now reached a milestone that will trigger a parliamentary debate on the proposals.

At present, the initial threshold allowing individuals to earn without paying tax is set at £12,570. Projections indicate that state pensions are set to exceed this limit by 2027 due to the triple lock mechanism.

The petition on the Parliament website has now garnered 100,000 signatures, meaning it will be debated in the House of Commons and pile pressure on Ms Reeves ahead of the imminent spring statement.

Ms Reeves has hinted that those solely receiving the full new state pension will not be hit with tax bills. However, it’s feared that millions more could be pulled into paying additional tax.

The campaign is pushing for pensioners to be given a separate tax code that would allow them to earn up to £25,140 before being taxed. The parliamentary debate means Ms Reeves’ Treasury team will have to defend its stance and provide updates on their plans, reports the Express.

The Spring Statement has been scheduled for 3 March. Over the past fortnight alone, the petition has seen a surge of more than 50,000 signatures, bringing the total to 100,907, securing a debate with MPs and the Treasury.

The proposal suggests that pensioners should be able to earn £25,140 before paying tax – double the current £12,570 personal tax allowance.

In her second Budget, the Chancellor revealed £26 billion of tax hikes spanning numerous sectors, branded at the time as a “smorgasbord” strategy aimed at generating additional fiscal breathing space for her spending and borrowing plans.

The proposals included maintaining income tax thresholds at current levels, after rumours swirled that the headline rate might climb for the first time in decades. This froze the lower personal tax allowance at £12,570 until 2031 in a move that could affect state pensioners.

Caps on salary sacrifice schemes, including voluntary extra pension contributions, and the “high-value council tax surcharge”, essentially a “mansion tax” on English homes worth over £2 million, were also among the rises.

The Treasury has addressed the campaign concerning tax thresholds for pensioners. The petition secured an official response recently – shortly after the Chancellor prolonged the threshold freeze until 2031 – meaning those collecting the full new State Pension will encounter tax liabilities from 2027, assuming the triple lock system, ensuring annual increases of at least 2.5 per cent, remains in place.

The petition, which can be found here, has attracted 101,354 signatures – triggering an official Treasury response. Timothy Hugh Mason, who launched the campaign, stated: “We want the government to introduce a new tax code for state pensioners, set at double the basic threshold.

“If this was implemented, pensioners would receive a higher tax-exempt limit, but wealthier pensioners would still pay tax. We think that people with small private or workplace pensions are currently being taxed unfairly.”

The Treasury has acknowledged that crucial decisions affecting those collecting solely the full new state pension alongside the £12,570 personal tax threshold will be made in 2026.

During her Budget address last November, Ms Reeves pledged that individuals receiving exclusively the full new state pension would be spared from taxation or completing tax returns, yet she failed to outline the mechanics of this promise.

The Treasury has now revealed it will devise a strategy in 2026.

In an official declaration, the Government stated: “As announced at the Budget, the government will ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027-28, if the new or basic State Pension exceeds the Personal Allowance from that point.

Addressing suggestions for raising the minimum tax threshold for pensioners to £25,140, the Treasury responded: “The State Pension is the foundation of support for pensioners. The Government is committed to a fair tax system but doubling the Personal Allowance for pensioners would be untargeted and costly.

The department further stated: “The State Pension is the foundation of support available to pensioners.

The government is committed to the Triple Lock – one of the most generous State Pension uprating mechanisms in the world – for the duration of this Parliament. This will increase the basic and new State Pension by 4.8% next April, boosting pensioner incomes by up to £575 a year and strengthening retirement security.

Officials added: “The Personal Allowance is already the highest amongst G7 countries. Doubling this allowance for all pensioners would be costly and untargeted – disproportionately benefiting higher-income pensioners.

“”The triple lock formula is expected to raise the full new State Pension from £230.25 to £241.30 weekly (£12,548 annually) from next year, positioning it marginally below the threshold. “.

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