Taxes & National Insurance
Tax touches almost every financial decision you make, from your monthly payslip to selling a second property or leaving money to your children. You don't need to be an accountant, but understanding the basic mechanics of Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax pays for itself many times over.
Income Tax
Tax bands, the Personal Allowance, Marriage Allowance, and how PAYE operates.
UK Income Tax Explained: Bands, Personal Allowance and Marriage Allowance
A plain-English walkthrough of the 2026/27 Income Tax bands, the Personal Allowance, and how tax is actually calculated on your pay.
Read nowMarriage Allowance Explained
Married couples and civil partners can transfer part of an unused Personal Allowance — a small but easy tax saving many never claim.
Read nowHow PAYE (Pay As You Earn) Works
Why tax is deducted automatically from most UK salaries, how tax codes are set, and what to do if yours looks wrong.
Read nowDividend Tax Explained
Dividends are taxed differently from salary or savings interest, with their own allowance and rates — relevant to shareholders and small company directors alike.
Read nowTax on Savings Interest and the Personal Savings Allowance
Most savers pay no tax on interest at all thanks to the Personal Savings Allowance — how it works and who it doesn't fully cover.
Read nowThe High Income Child Benefit Charge
Households where someone earns over £60,000 can face a charge that claws back some or all of their Child Benefit — how it's calculated and ways to manage it.
Read nowTax Residency and Domicile: The Basics
Where you're tax resident, and separately your domicile, both affect what UK tax you owe — an introduction to two often-confused concepts.
Read nowTax Codes Explained: How to Read Yours
What the letters and numbers on your tax code actually mean, how to check it's correct, and what to do if you think HMRC has got it wrong.
Read nowEmergency Tax: Why It Happens and How to Fix It
Why new jobs and pension withdrawals often trigger emergency tax, how much extra you could pay, and the fastest way to get it corrected and refunded.
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Self-Assessment
Tax returns for sole traders, side hustles, deadlines, allowable expenses, and Payment on Account.
Self-Assessment for Beginners: Who Needs to File a Tax Return
Sole traders, landlords, high earners and side-hustlers may all need to register — how to tell if Self-Assessment applies to you.
Read nowSelf-Assessment Deadlines and Penalties
Registration, filing and payment deadlines — and the escalating fines HMRC charges for missing them.
Read nowAllowable Expenses for Sole Traders
What you can and can't deduct against your income before tax, including the flat-rate simplified expenses scheme.
Read nowUnderstanding Payments on Account
Why your Self-Assessment bill can come with an extra advance payment attached, and how to budget for it.
Read nowThe Rent-a-Room Scheme
Rent out a furnished room in your own home and you can earn up to £7,500 a year completely tax-free — how the scheme works and its limits.
Read nowVAT Basics for a New Small Business
VAT registration becomes compulsory once turnover crosses £90,000 — what that means in practice, and why some smaller businesses register voluntarily anyway.
Read nowRegistering for Self-Assessment: A Step-by-Step Guide
How and when to register with HMRC for Self-Assessment, the deadlines that apply from your first year of trading, and what happens if you register late.
Read nowMaking Tax Digital for Income Tax: What's Changing
How HMRC's move to digital record-keeping and quarterly updates will affect sole traders and landlords, who's affected first, and how to get ready.
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Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
Allowances, reporting gains on property or shares, and strategies to minimise CGT.
Capital Gains Tax Explained
What counts as a taxable gain, the annual exempt amount, and the current 18% and 24% rates.
Read nowCGT on Property and Shares: Reporting Rules
Selling a second property has a tight 60-day reporting deadline — how the rules differ for shares and other assets.
Read nowLegal Ways to Reduce Your Capital Gains Tax Bill
From using your ISA allowance to spousal transfers and timing disposals across tax years — legitimate ways to reduce CGT.
Read nowCapital Gains Tax on Crypto and Other Assets
How CGT applies to cryptoassets, collectibles and other personal possessions, including the rules on record-keeping and reporting gains to HMRC.
Read nowThe CGT Allowance and Tax Rates: A Year-by-Year Guide
How the Capital Gains Tax annual exempt amount and rates have changed in recent years, and what that means for how much tax you'll actually pay.
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Inheritance Tax (IHT)
Gifting rules, the Nil-Rate Band, writing a will, and using trusts for estate planning.
Inheritance Tax Explained
The £325,000 Nil-Rate Band, the Residence Nil-Rate Band, and how the 40% rate is actually applied to an estate.
Read nowGifting Rules and the 7-Year Rule
Gifts can fall outside your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes after seven years — how taper relief and annual exemptions work.
Read nowWriting a Will and the Basics of Estate Planning
Why dying without a valid will hands control to intestacy rules, not your wishes — and how to get a will properly drafted.
Read nowUsing Trusts for Inheritance Tax Planning
Trusts can help control how and when assets pass to beneficiaries — an introduction to how they interact with IHT.
Read nowThe Residence Nil-Rate Band Explained
The extra inheritance tax allowance available when you leave your home to children or grandchildren, who qualifies, and how tapering can reduce it.
Read nowLife Insurance in Trust for Inheritance Tax Planning
Why writing a life insurance policy in trust can keep the payout outside your estate for inheritance tax purposes, and how the process actually works.
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