HMRC's pension recycling rule prevents taking a 25% tax-free lump sum and 're-investing' it back into a pension to claim relief twice. Here's how the £7,500 trigger works and how to stay onside.
The tapered annual allowance starts at £260,000 threshold income and £260,000 adjusted income, cutting your £60,000 pension allowance by £1 for every £2 over the threshold — down to a £10,000 floor. Worked examples for 2025/26.
The UK personal allowance has been frozen at £12,570 since April 2021 and stays frozen until April 2028. Here's how fiscal drag quietly takes a four-figure bite out of your take-home pay.
Salary sacrifice cuts your taxable pay and adds employer NI savings. Pension, EV lease and Cycle to Work each have different mechanics — at £60k a year, a £400/month EV lease costs as little as £232 net; a £6,000 pension sacrifice costs £3,480.
Non-UK resident buyers of residential property in England or Northern Ireland pay a 2% SDLT surcharge on top of normal rates — and the 5% second-home surcharge stacks. Full breakdown with worked examples.
Missing the 31 January Self Assessment deadline triggers an instant £100 penalty even if you owe no tax — then £10/day from day 90, plus 5% surcharges at 6 and 12 months. Late payment adds 7.75% interest in 2026. Full penalty schedule.
Section 24, 5% SDLT surcharge, 24% CGT, vanishing CGT allowance, lower yields and tighter EPC rules — the maths on selling a BTL in 2026. A full worked example on a £250,000 property bought for £180,000.
If your Stocks & Shares ISA is in the red in 2026, panic-selling can lock in losses and waste valuable ISA contribution space. Here's the maths, the behaviour and the UK-specific tax rules behind sell-or-hold.
A Stocks & Shares ISA shelters all dividends and capital gains from UK tax forever. Here's what 20 years of £20,000 contributions could realistically grow to, and why the wrapper matters more than the funds you pick.
You can't claim both. Tax-Free Childcare tops up your childcare account by 25% (up to £2,000 per child per year); the Universal Credit childcare element repays 85% of costs up to £1,031 per month for one child. Which suits which family in 2025/26?
Your effective tax rate is what you actually pay on average; your marginal rate is what the next £1 costs. Both matter — but for different decisions. Worked examples at £30k, £55k, £105k and £130k.
Voluntary National Insurance Class 2 costs £190 per year and Class 3 costs £957 per year — but they buy the same extra State Pension entitlement. Worked examples on the payback period and who qualifies for the cheaper Class 2 route in 2026/27.
