High earners benefit most from cuts in national insurance contributions, according to the Resolution Foundation, a think-tank.
But gains for all earners would be partially or fully offset if Hunt, as widely expected, renews a freeze in personal tax thresholds from April.
The chancellor is expected to announce a 2p cut in NICs, duplicating an identical cut in last November’s Autumn Statement.
A total cut of 4p would cost government coffers about £20bn and would be worth up to £1,500 a year for employees.
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Combining this with the impact of freezing personal tax thresholds, the biggest net beneficiaries would be people earning £50,000 a year, who would gain a net £1,225 a year, according to the RF (see chart).
Those earning more than £50,000 would benefit slightly less, with a net gain of £901 a year.
But those earning £19,000 or less would actually be worse off, as they lose more from the threshold freeze than they gain from NIC cuts, according to the RF.
For the Treasury, the £20bn cost of cutting employee NICs would be more than offset by about £35bn raised from workers by the freeze on personal tax thresholds, plus more from employers.
Adam Corlett, Principal Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said:
There are huge questions about whether Britain can really afford £20bn of tax cuts this year . . . But the chancellor has at least opted for a better approach than cutting income tax rates — prioritising workers, who face higher tax rates than landlords and pensioners.
But while this is going to be a tax-cutting election year, it is sandwiched between significant past and future tax rises, with the Budget likely to only add to the number of tax increases coming in after the election.