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Outdated tax reliefs and allowances - the ATT's worst offenders

12 June, 2026

The ATT has identified nine of the most outdated allowances and reliefs in the tax system where the absence of a system of regular review or link to inflation has resulted in their importance and usefulness to taxpayers being eroded over time. 

The outdated allowances and reliefs cover a range of tax issues, from  VAT to employment, self-employment, inheritance tax, and savings. Some have been fixed for over 50 years, during which time their value has been eroded by inflation, to the point where they provide relatively little value to taxpayers, whilst creating additional complexity and increasing admin and costs for households and businesses.

Our summary infographic of outdated allowances and reliefs lists the fixed amounts and estimates their current value if they were adjusted for inflation, whilst our outdated allowances page contains more details on each outdated amount.