Broadband, mobile bills and council tax rises threaten ‘awful April’ for householders already facing cost of living crisis March 31, 2023 Households battling the cost of living crisis are facing an onslaught of price hikes that could leave the average family hundreds of pounds a year worse off. From April 1, millions of people will face increases to their broadband, mobile, water and council tax bills. Most local authorities are putting up council tax by 5 [...]
Pensions, Isas, child benefit limits and inheritance tax: Your ten point end of tax year checklist March 29, 2023 In five year’s time the annual income of another 2.1 million taxpayers will fall into the higher rate tax threshold, a rise of 47 per cent, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The threshold has been frozen since April 2021 – and is expected to stay frozen until April 2028 while the threshold [...]
Tax year end: Six ways to invest a £100,000 bonus March 28, 2023 Next week marks the end of the 2022/23 tax year, with midnight on 5 April the deadline for using available tax-free savings and investment allowances. Last December saw city workers awarded bumper bonuses and seven in ten City workers still expect their bonus to be as large as – if not ‘larger’ or ‘significantly larger’ [...]
Junior Isas and the £100k children’s savings club: As savings deadline approaches parents reminded to use their tax free allowance March 28, 2023 Around 40 children had Junior Isa pots worth £200,000 or more at the end of the 2020/21 tax year, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures. And around 500 had savings pots worth £100,000 or above, the figures indicate. The rounded figures were released after a freedom of information request made on behalf of [...]
Dating, DIY and Netflix: Brits stop spending on love and luxury due to cost of living crisis, Nationwide says March 24, 2023 The value of households’ spending on subscription services, home improvements and dating fell annually in February, according to analysis by Britain’s biggest building society of its members’ outgoings. The volume of dating transactions fell by a third (33 per cent ) in February 2023 compared with the same month in 2022, also falling by 7 [...]
Lump sum or regular saving, investing for children and how to go green: Your Isa guide to making the most of this year’s tax-free allowance March 24, 2023 With just under three weeks left until the end of the tax year, savers may still be considering how to use their annual tax-free Isa allowance. You can use your allowance whether you are looking at setting up a regular savings plan, or investing a lump sum, or even considering putting some cash aside for [...]
UK house prices: Growth down while rents soar by their highest in seven years March 22, 2023 Private rent paid by tenants in the UK rose 4.7 per cent in the 12 months to February 2023, up from 4.4 per cent in the 12 months to January 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics which also reported that house prices increased 6.3 per cent in the same period. Annual private rent [...]
Inheritance tax take beats all records as property price hikes boost HMRC’s coffers by whopping £6.4bn March 21, 2023 The amount of inheritance tax (IHT) paid in February totalled £531m, bringing the total for the 2022/23 tax year to a record £6.4bn. With just one month to go the amount already surpassed the £6.1bn received by the Treasury throughout the entire 2021-22 financial year. The record-breaking inheritance tax take follows last week’s revision by [...]
Exclusive: Renters face being pushed out of London as landlords struggle to cope with ‘huge’ mortgage hikes, adviser warns March 20, 2023 Landlords in London and the south east are facing a 125 per cent increase in monthly mortgage payments, or £574 on average, according to research exclusively shared with City A.M. The Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates 11 times over the last 15 months has seen mortgage costs spiral for mortgage borrowers. Earlier [...]
Pension pain: Savers who bought lifetime allowance ‘protection’ warned they may still find their tax-free lump sum capped March 17, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s decision to scrap the pension lifetime allowance (LTA) in Wednesday’s Spring Budget, was heralded as an incentive for wealthier employees over 50 to stay in the workforce. But some pensions experts say for those who took out a form of LTA protection may still have to watch they do not go over [...]