Should you save, invest or overpay your mortgage?
Today’s Blog is targeted at the lucky cohort of individuals would have bought their own home, albeit with probably a hefty mortgage from their bank, and who have some spare income or perhaps a lump sum that’s been saved up. The question is, do you save your extra cash, invest it or use it to […]
Employment Rights Act 2025
Labour’s flagship policy on employment, as encapsulated in ‘The Employment Rights Act 2025’, is now in force. As is usual with political parties, the implementation of some of the more controversial changes, have been delayed until April 2026, and a quite a few until 2027. So, if you’re an employer, what do you need to […]
Is the value of your state pension under threat?
It’s common knowledge that the state pension has an annual increase every April, but I suspect that very few of you fully understand the mechanisms involved in calculating the annual rise percentage, which is normally announced in November, for the following year. Unfortunately, whilst the headline percentage increase for 2026/27 of 4.8%, was splashed all […]
Pension Drawdown
The Budget I will start this week’s Blog with a disclaimer as you might be expecting a Blog today on Rachel Reeves’ second Budget. This will be posted next Friday as at this stage all I could have done is provide you with a list of the main changes, together with my initial observations. Any […]
‘It’s not my fault’ says Rachel Reeves
In her speech on Tuesday, the Chancellor strongly hinted that the Budget will be painful, not because of what she’s done but because of the actions of others. She then claimed that the pain to come will be worth it, to tackle the country’s debt mountain, help public services and promote growth. Who did she […]
Is it time to change the VAT threshold?
With the budget less than a month away, there are strong rumours that the Chancellor is considering making changes to VAT to increase the amount of tax collected and boost investment. The run-up to a Budget inevitably sees a swirl of rumours and speculation and this year is no exception. In fact, it’s hard to […]
Isn’t it about time we had an accountant in No. 10
I will start today’s Blog by admitting that on this week’s topic, I am a teeny-weeny bit biased, but for good reasons I believe. It seems inconceivable, that there hasn’t been a Chancellor of the Exchequer in living memory who has held any form of accountancy qualification or even experience. Yes, a few have had […]
VAT – A quirky little tax!
I will start today’s Blog with a brief history of Value Added Tax in the UK. VAT was introduced in 1973, replacing Purchase Tax and is the third-largest source of government revenue after Income Tax and National Insurance, amounting to over £167bn in 2024-25 (15.4%, of all tax) . Over the years, different governments, both Labour […]
Pension Annuities
Is now the right time to buy one? The massed ranks of the UK’s ‘the soon to be retired’, all face the same question, namely do I have enough savings to last me during my retirement? It’s the same question, whether your pension pot is a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) or a workplace defined contribution […]
Which taxpayers are exempt from MTD for income tax
With all of the hullaballoo around the upcoming Budget in November, the express train of Making Tax Digital, set to include individual taxpayers wef 6th April 2026, is fast approaching. A key part of preparing for the introduction of MTD for income tax (MTD IT) is determining which taxpayers are likely to be in (and […]
