A giveaway for first-time buyers and cuts to tax on income and savings were the biggest surprises in today's Budget.
Chancellor George Osborne also revealed details of plans to allow pensioners to cash in their annuities, as well as yet another freeze in fuel duty.
Help To Buy ISA
The government has been trying to encourage first-time buyers with its Help To Buy mortgage scheme, which makes home loans more affordable.
But a new Help To Buy ISA aims to help would-be homebuyers save up a deposit.
The scheme, which comes into effect in the autumn, will provide a 25% savings top-up for anyone who is putting money aside for their first home.
The payments will be limited to £50 a month on a maximum of £200 saved. Overall, the most anyone can receive from the state will be £3,000.
The bonus is available for purchases of up to £450,000 in London and up to £250,000 elsewhere, and it will only be paid when the sale goes through.
Cuts to income tax
From April 2016, income tax at 20% will no longer be automatically deducted from the interest banks and building societies pay on interest.
Everyone will be able to earn up to £1,000 a year in interest before tax is due (£500 if you are a higher-rate taxpayer).
More flexible ISAs
From the autumn, savers will be able to withdraw money from their ISAs and then re-save or re-invest it without losing its tax-free status or reducing the amount of annual ISA allowance left over.
This means savers will have more flexible access to their cash without having to worry about tax implications.
Higher personal allowance
The government plans to continue raising the amount that can be earned every year before income tax is payable.
From next month the threshold increases to £10,600. Today, Osborne said that it would rise to £10,800 next year and £11,000 in 2017.
From 2017-18, the higher-rate taxpayer threshold will increase faster than inflation, meaning fewer people will have to pay tax at 40% or 45%.
Cashing in annuities
Around 5 million pensioners who have bought annuities will be able to sell them for a cash lump sum from next year without facing the punitive tax rates currently in force.
The government expects most people to keep their annuity and the guaranteed lifetime income it offers, however.
Cut to the pension saving allowance
Osborne said that the amount that could be saved into a pension over a lifetime would be cut from £1.25 million to £1 million.
Any pension contributions over this limit are subject to income tax. This is likely to affect the most well-off individuals only.
Annual tax returns to be phased out
The annual paper tax return is being abolished and will be replaced by a more efficient digital system by the end of the decade.
Fuel duty frozen
The increase in fuel duty which had been scheduled for September has been scrapped. Osborne said that, by the end of the 2015-16 tax year, duty on petrol and diesel will have remained at the same level for five years.
Lower tax on alcohol
Finally, drinkers and landlords were given a boost by the news that duty on a pint of beer was to fall by 1p. Duty on spirits and cider is also to be cut by 2%, while duty on wine remains unchanged.
