Guides
Plain-English explainers on UK pay, tax and money decisions — each one backed by the same rates and methods as our calculators, and updated for the 2026/27 tax year.
Property & mortgages
What It Really Costs to Buy Your First Home
The deposit is only the start. The real cash a first-time buyer needs on the day, how much a lender will actually let you borrow, and what the monthly reality looks like.
Stamp Duty Across the UK: Same House, Three Very Different Bills
Buy the same £300,000 home in England, Scotland or Wales and the tax ranges from nothing to nearly £29,000. SDLT, LBTT and LTT compared side by side, first-time buyers included.
Bricks vs Stocks: Does Leverage Still Win in 2026?
Put the same cash into a leveraged property or into the markets and you get very different answers. The honest maths on leverage, costs and the quiet tax advantage of an ISA.
Section 24: Own Your Buy-to-Let Personally or Through a Company?
How Section 24 can tax higher-rate landlords on more than they actually keep — and how holding through a limited company changes the maths as a portfolio grows.
Overpay Your Mortgage, or Invest the Money?
A spare £200 a month can knock years off your mortgage or grow in an ISA. How to weigh a guaranteed, tax-free return against an uncertain but potentially higher one.
Pay & tax
Scottish Income Tax: Every Band and Rate Since 2016
From a single frozen threshold in 2017/18 to six bands from 19% to 48%: the full, sourced history of Scottish income tax, and what the gap with the rest of the UK costs at £50,000, year by year.
The Statutory Redundancy Pay Cap: Every Weekly Limit Since 1965
From £40 a week — twice the average wage of 1965 — to £751 in 2026/27: the full, sourced history of the redundancy cap, and the £30,000 tax-free rule that hasn't moved since 1988.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Who's In, From When, and What Actually Changes
From April 2026, sole traders and landlords with gross income over £50,000 file quarterly through software — with £30,000 and £20,000 waves behind it. Who's caught, the deadlines, and how to get ready.
The £100,000 Tax Trap: How the 60% Rate Works (and How to Escape It)
Earn between £100,000 and £125,140 and you pay an effective 60% tax on every extra pound as your personal allowance is withdrawn. Here's how the trap works, why it can be even worse for parents, and how a pension contribution gets you out of it.
How a Pay Rise Is Really Taxed: The UK Marginal-Rate Map (2026/27)
Your headline tax band is not the whole story. Across UK income there are hidden spikes where each extra pound is taxed at 60%, 70% or more once allowances, the Child Benefit charge and student loans stack up. Here is the full marginal-rate map.
The Child Benefit Charge for Couples: Why Two £55k Earners Beat One on £110k
The High Income Child Benefit Charge is based on the higher earner's income, not your household total — so how your income is split matters enormously. Here's how it works and how a pension contribution can avoid it.
Salary Sacrifice Explained: How It Works and How Much It Saves
Salary sacrifice swaps part of your gross pay for pension contributions taken before tax and National Insurance — so a pound in your pension costs you far less than a pound. Here's how it works and what to watch.
How Is a Second Job Taxed? Two Jobs and Your Tax Code Explained
A second job is not taxed at a special higher rate — but your tax code can make it look that way. Here's how tax and National Insurance really work across two jobs, including the NI quirk that can work in your favour.
Saving, debt & investing
The ISA Allowance: Every Annual Limit Since 1999
From £7,000 at launch to £20,000 frozen since 2017 — the full, sourced history of the ISA allowance, the PEPs and TESSAs that came before it, and the £12,000 cash cap arriving in April 2027.
Should You Overpay Your Student Loan? (UK, 2026/27)
For most UK graduates, overpaying a student loan is wasted money — it gets written off before you'd ever clear it. Here's when overpaying helps, when it doesn't, and how to check your own numbers.
Should You Pay Off Debt or Invest? A UK Guide
With spare money each month, is it better to clear debt or invest it? The answer comes down to comparing a guaranteed return against an uncertain one. Here's a simple framework for deciding.
The Maths of Compound Growth: How Your Money Really Grows Over Time
Compound growth is the engine behind every investment and pension. This guide works through the actual formulas — lump sums, regular contributions, inflation and fees — so you can see exactly where the money comes from.