Long-form, slow-cooked guides on UK money — written for people who actually want to understand the numbers, not be sold a product.
A new permanent UK Mortgage Guarantee Scheme launched in July 2025, replacing the temporary scheme that closed June 2025. Buyers can use a deposit as small as 5% on properties up to £600,000. Here is what the published rules say, who can use it, and which lenders take part.
Council tax is not being abolished. The November 2025 Budget kept it and added a new High Value Council Tax Surcharge (mansion tax) of £2,500-£7,500 a year on homes worth over £2 million, collected from April 2028. Council tax administration is also being reformed for the first time since 1993. Here is what every figure means.
Understand compound interest with December 2025 rates. £10,000 grows to £16,289 in 10 years at 5.00%. Learn the formula, see real examples at current UK rates.
The UK ISA allowance for 2026/27 is £20,000 (HMRC), split as you choose across cash, stocks and shares, innovative finance and Lifetime ISAs. The Lifetime ISA takes up to £4,000 of it with a 25% government bonus; Junior ISAs have a separate £9,000 limit. Here are the published rules.
A 4.5% nominal savings rate sounds attractive. With UK CPI inflation at around 3.4% in 2026, the real return (what your money is actually worth after inflation) is closer to 1.1%. Here is how the calculation works and how to read it across different rate environments.
A 3.80% Premium Bonds prize fund rate is tax-free. For a higher-rate taxpayer who has used their Personal Savings Allowance, that equates to a 6.33% gross taxable savings rate. Here is the calculation and the cases where Premium Bonds are and are not the right home for cash.
From 6 April 2027 the Cash ISA allowance falls from £20,000 to £12,000 for savers under 65. The Stocks and Shares ISA allowance stays at £20,000. Here is what the change means, who it affects, and why the 2026/27 tax year is the last full Cash ISA window for under-65s.
A 25% withdrawal charge on a Lifetime ISA does not just claw back the 25% government bonus. The charge applies to the full fund value, which means the saver loses 6.25% of their own contributions on every non-qualifying withdrawal. Here is how the calculation works.
Understand compound interest with December 2025 rates. £10,000 grows to £16,289 in 10 years at 5.00%. Learn the formula, see real examples at current UK rates.
Compare Cash ISA (4.52%) vs regular savings (5.00%) with December 2025 rates. Discover when tax-free ISAs beat higher-rate taxable accounts for basic, higher, and additional rate taxpayers.
Save £10,000 in a year using December 2025's exceptional rates. Combine regular savers (7.50%), easy access (5.00%), and smart budgeting to hit your £10k goal with £250+ bonus interest.
UK student loan repayments are 9% of income over your plan's threshold (6% for Postgraduate Loans) — with thresholds from £21,000 to £33,795 depending on plan (gov.uk). Here are the current thresholds, the rates, and HMRC's worked examples including holding two loans at once.
The UK Capital Gains Tax Annual Exempt Amount is £3,000 for 2026/27 (HMRC), with £1,500 for trusts. Basic-rate taxpayers pay 18% or 24% depending on the size of the gain; higher and additional-rate taxpayers pay 24%. Here's the mechanic with HMRC worked examples.
The UK Dividend Allowance for the current tax year is £500 (HMRC), with dividends above the allowance taxed at 10.75% basic / 35.75% higher / 39.35% additional. ISA dividends and dividends within the Personal Allowance are tax-free. Here's the mechanic with an HMRC worked example.
HMRC's High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) claws back Child Benefit when the higher earner in a couple earns over £60,000 in the 2024/25 tax year onwards, tapering to full clawback at £80,000. Here's the taper mechanic, the HMRC worked example, and the opt-out that preserves NI credits.
The UK Personal Savings Allowance lets basic-rate taxpayers earn £1,000 of interest tax-free, higher-rate taxpayers £500, and additional-rate taxpayers £0 (HMRC). It sits on top of a separate £5,000 starting rate for savings that tapers to zero above £17,570 of other income.
Marriage Allowance lets the lower earner transfer £1,260 of their Personal Allowance to a spouse or civil partner (HMRC), saving up to £252 a year. Here's the eligibility rules, the £214 worked example from HMRC, the Scottish band, and how backdating to 2022/23 works.
For UK incomes between £100,000 and £125,140 the Personal Allowance reduces by £1 for every £2 over £100,000 (HMRC), interacting with the 40% Higher rate to produce a higher effective marginal rate. Here is how the two rules combine and which levers reduce it.
Council tax is not being abolished. The November 2025 Budget kept it and added a new High Value Council Tax Surcharge (mansion tax) of £2,500-£7,500 a year on homes worth over £2 million, collected from April 2028. Council tax administration is also being reformed for the first time since 1993. Here is what every figure means.
The standard UK Inheritance Tax rate is 40% on estates above the £325,000 nil-rate band. Homeowners passing the property to direct descendants may use a £500,000 threshold. From 9 January 2026, HMRC charges 7.75% interest on unpaid IHT. Here is what every figure means.
Workers earning between the £10,000 auto-enrolment trigger and the £12,570 personal allowance receive no income tax relief on their pension contributions if their employer's scheme uses the net-pay method. The same workers in a relief-at-source scheme get a 20% top-up. Here is how to tell which scheme you are in and what the difference is worth.
Complete UK income tax guide for 2025/26 with updated Scottish bands. Calculate tax on £25k-£150k salaries, understand the 60% tax trap, and compare England vs Scotland.
Complete National Insurance guide for 2025/26 with April 2025 changes. Employee NI unchanged (8% + 2%), employer NI raised to 15% with £5,000 threshold, £10,500 allowance.
Complete student loan repayment guide for 2025/26. Calculate repayments on all 5 plans with updated thresholds: Plan 1 £26,065, Plan 2 £28,470, Plan 5 £25,000.
Calculate your UK take-home pay for 2026/27. Personal allowance £12,570, NI 8%/2%, student loan thresholds updated for the new tax year. Worked examples from £20k to £150k.
Complete guide to UK tax bands for 2026/27. Personal allowance frozen at £12,570 until April 2031, the 60% tax trap, Scottish bands, and exactly what you'll pay on your salary.
UK two-year fixed mortgage rates peaked at 5.90% on 12 April having climbed from 4.83% at the start of March (Moneyfacts) before falling to 5.54%. Zoopla put London first-time buyers at +£232/month at peak, the north east at +£66. Here's what the data shows.
A new permanent UK Mortgage Guarantee Scheme launched in July 2025, replacing the temporary scheme that closed June 2025. Buyers can use a deposit as small as 5% on properties up to £600,000. Here is what the published rules say, who can use it, and which lenders take part.
Help to Buy in England closed to new applicants in October 2022 and completed in March 2023. There is no like-for-like replacement. Five separate schemes now share the ground Help to Buy used to occupy. Here is what each one offers and who qualifies.
From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds will fall inside the deceased's estate for Inheritance Tax. Here is what changes, who it affects, and how the calculation differs from the pre-2027 treatment.
The Bank of England base rate is the interest rate the central bank pays commercial banks on reserves. Learn how the Monetary Policy Committee sets it, what its 3.75% level today means, and how the decision flows through to tracker mortgages, fixed-rate deals, and savings accounts.
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 to hold the base rate at 3.75% in June 2026. Here is what the decision and the inflation outlook mean for UK mortgage payments at different loan sizes.
A gilt is a UK Government sterling liability that has never missed an interest or principal payment. Learn how conventional and index-linked gilts work, and what gilt yields mean for fixed-rate mortgage pricing.
The MPC voted at its September 2025 meeting to cut APF gilt holdings by £70bn, targeting a total of £488bn. What quantitative tightening means for fixed-rate mortgage pricing.
Bank of England Money Markets Committee minutes from March 2026 reveal stable funding conditions, shifting policy expectations, and a recalibrated Discount Window Facility.
Compare fixed vs variable mortgages with December 2025 rates. Discover which saves you more with 2-year fixes at 3.55%, 5-year at 3.76%, and trackers from 4.50%.
Discover if mortgage overpayments are right for you. Learn how to save £34,000+ in interest with December 2025 rates, clear your mortgage years early, and avoid penalties.
Calculate UK mortgage payments with worked examples at mid-2026 rates. Bank of England base rate 3.75%, average UK house price £270,000, December 2025 best 2-year fixes from 3.55%.
Deposit requirements for first-time UK buyers in 2026. 5-20% options at current mid-2026 rates, Lifetime ISA mechanics, Shared Ownership, and realistic saving timelines.
How much you can borrow under UK lender affordability rules in 2026. Income multiples, the post-FPC stress-test landscape, and worked examples at mid-2026 rates from £25k to £100k+.
First-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland pay 0% SDLT up to £300,000 and lose all relief above £500,000. Maximum saving £5,000. Updated for the post-1 April 2025 thresholds.
Calculate stamp duty on UK property purchases with our free calculator. Updated for the post-1 April 2025 SDLT thresholds (£125k standard, £300k first-time buyer) and the 5% additional-property surcharge.