The rules behind the numbers
33 plain-English guides to UK tax, pay, property and pensions. Each one explains how a rule works, walks through real figures for 2026/27, and links to the calculator that works it out for you.
Pay & tax
The 60% tax trap
Why each extra £100 earned between £100,000 and £125,140 leaves you with just £38, and how pension contributions win back the allowance.
Tax guideThe £100,000 childcare trap
Why £1 over £100,000 can cost a family thousands in childcare help, and the pension top-up that wins it back.
Tax guide NewBudget 2026: what changes and when
Every change that reaches households, when it starts and what it’s worth: mostly temporary help in 2027.
Tax guideThe Child Benefit tax trap
How the High Income Child Benefit Charge works between £60,000 and £80,000, and the pension contributions that bring it back.
Tax guideHow dividend tax works
The new 10.75% and 35.75% rates, how the £500 allowance really works, and four worked examples.
Tax guidePayments on account
Why the first January bill is about one and a half times what self-employed people expect, and how the two payments work.
Student loan guideShould you overpay your student loan?
Why extra payments often just shrink the amount written off, and who really does save by overpaying.
Tax guideSole trader or limited company?
Take-home both ways at profits from £30,000 to £100,000 on 2026/27 rates, and the cases where a company still wins.
Tax guide NewUsing your own car for work
The tax-free rates, claiming relief on the gap, and what the higher rates from April 2027 are worth.
Property
The landlord mortgage interest rule
How the 20% credit works, what it costs higher-rate landlords, and the knock-on effects on other income limits.
Property guideOverpaying your mortgage
What £100 or £200 a month extra saves on a £200,000 mortgage, and when savings or a pension would do better.
Property guideStamp Duty for first-time buyers
What you'll pay at prices from £250,000 to £510,000, the £500,000 cliff edge, and how Scotland and Wales differ.
Savings & wealth
How compound interest works
Interest on interest: why £10,000 and £200 a month at 5% becomes £109,333 in 20 years, and why starting early matters most.
Savings guide NewHow savings interest is taxed
The allowances that keep most interest tax-free, worked examples, and the rise due in April 2027.
Inheritance guideInheritance Tax and your home
How the extra £175,000 for your home works, how couples reach £1 million, and what happens above £2 million.
Inheritance guidePensions and Inheritance Tax from April 2027
What changes for pensions left to your family from April 2027, and why the two taxes together can take two thirds.
Pension guideThree ways to pay into a pension
What £100 into your pension really costs under salary sacrifice, net pay and relief at source.
Savings guideWhat inflation does to your money
Why £100 in 2000 needs to be £188 today, how the three measures differ, and what that means for your pay and savings.
Inheritance guideWho inherits if there’s no will
How the law shares an estate when there’s no will, in each part of the UK, and why an unmarried partner gets nothing.
Credit cards
Balance transfer or personal loan?
When a 0% deal beats a loan, when the loan’s fixed rate wins, and what to check before you apply.
Money guideCredit card minimum payments
Why minimum payments shrink as the balance does, what that costs, and the quickest ways to clear a card.
Money guideHow credit card interest works
From APR to a daily rate, the interest-free period, cash withdrawals, and which balance a payment clears first.
Money guideIs a balance transfer worth it?
What a 0% deal saves after the fee, how much to pay to clear it in time, and the catches to watch for.
Money guideMinimum payments by card provider
Every UK card provider’s minimum payment rule, side by side, with where it comes from and what it means on £3,000.
Money guidePaying off a credit card by a set date
Pick the date, then the payment: what clearing £3,000 in one to five years costs, and how to keep to it.
Money guidePaying off several credit cards
The avalanche against the snowball on three real cards, what each costs, and why both beat the minimums by years.
Work & family
Adoption pay and leave, and sharing it
What adoption leave and pay give, who qualifies from the matching week, and when sharing the year pays.
Work guideAre you paid the minimum wage?
The 2026/27 rates, how to check a salary, and the deductions that can quietly take you below the minimum.
Work guideHoliday for part-time and irregular hours
The 5.6 weeks for part-time patterns, the 12.07% rule for irregular hours, and rolled-up holiday pay.
Work guideMaternity pay: SMP or Maternity Allowance
Who qualifies for SMP, what 39 weeks of it adds up to, and Maternity Allowance if you don't qualify.
Work guideRedundancy pay and the £30,000 tax-free amount
How statutory pay is worked out, which parts of a payout are tax-free, and using a pension to keep more.
Work guideShared Parental Leave: does sharing pay?
How 50 weeks of leave and 37 of pay are shared, who qualifies, and when sharing costs the family or pays.
Work guideSick pay from April 2026
What changed in April 2026, how much you get for a few days or a few weeks, and what happens after 28 weeks.