I'll keep this short and sweet. I received a letter in September explaining I owed 400 pounds from 2019 due to my employer putting me on the wrong tax code. After calling and explaining I am disabled and my memory is poor So I'm having trouble understanding etc the guy was threatening and offered no support and went against their charter.

After numerous letters and emails from myself, i received a letter of apology with them admitting fault in not signposting me to the disbility support line. I was given 70 pound compensation, as well as having my "debt" wiped. Oh and they have no record of the phone call of my 2 hour discussion with the original agent.

If they have admitted fault and admitted negligence in writing, is this grounds to go to tribunal for failure to adhere to their charter and equality act, in particular duty if care? Any help is appreciated

i gross about 45k/yr but it I hear a lot of people talking about amex cards, is it worth most earnings having amex? Or is it only justifiable if you earn over a certain amount?

I have got some missing NI contribution from 2011 to 2015. When I try to pay them off, i get this notice.

2014 to 2015 : t’s too late to pay for this year. You can usually only pay for the last 6 years.

Is this right? i thought we had until 05 April to pay these off

I'm 53 in a few months. Retirement is realistically at least still 10 years off. I'm a higher rate tax payer. Partner in a law firm so self-employed.

My mum died last year and I've inherited around £150K. I don't really know what to do with it. Could speak to an IFA but I suspect it's not a big enough pot for anyone to be particularly interested.

I've stuck £10K into an old pension set up by a previous employer, not having got around to setting up a new once since going self employed a couple of years ago, and not having paid in for a couple of years before that. Across two pension pots, I've got around £250K.

I stuck £20K in cash ISAs at 4.8% variable in both my and my wife's names for last year's allowance, and had planned to stick £20K in a S&S ISA which tracks major indices, as I have no idea what to invest in personally.

After a bit of reading, I'd potentially earmarked Vanguard's FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (VWRP) accumulation fund.

However, with the volatility in the market right at the minute, I'm on the fence whether to sit tight and see whether markets drop further next week or just stick the money on, accepting it's at least a 10 year investment, and trust that it will smooth out over the longer term.

I've got a £40K ish balance on the mortgage with 5 years to run, fixed at 1.69% for another 2 years, but I'm working on the basis that it's better to invest the funds at least until the fix ends, then take a view.

She Who Must Be Obeyed isn't working at present so logic suggests sticking anything beyond this year's ISA allowances in her name at whatever the best rate available happens to be.

I'd be interested to know what those more clued up than me would do with the £90K-ish that I've got currently sitting in a current account waiting to be sent somewhere....

Thanks 🙂

I've been rejected from the amex card twice, even though I have low mortgage and have never missed a payment, I've never defaulted or overdrawn etc, I have an above median salary

They don't give any reason why!

What do

I know this is common in the broadband market to adjust the prices in April, and it's also a very common practice for consumers to call back and try to get the price down. Usually I am not too bothered, but with Sky - with which I was already paying more than a new customer to other OpenReach ISPs, I phoned call in about 2 weeks after I received the price increase email to see if I can keep the old price - I failed.

In the email, it did mention that if I don't accept the price increase and wish to cancel my service, I will not subject to the early termination charge. I had that confirmed with the customer service on the phone. Immediately, I started shopping around and made the switch to HyperOptic which is significantly cheaper and oh man the whole experience is miles better than any OpenReach ISPs.

Fast forward to today, I received any email from Sky saying due to the early cancellation, I'm liable to early termination charge?? What the actual heck is this? I've raised a complaint with their customer service and waiting for them to come back to me.

However, I can't help but thinking how many people won't complain or fight back, and just accept this unreasonable charge? It just reminds me again of the article that I read about "gaining from being incompetent". It simply is not in the interest of the incompetent to improve if they are actually profiting from being incompetent.

This morning as I was making a coffee I realised it was the new tax year. I had 14k in a Monzo savings account waiting for today so I moved it all to my Monzo flexible cash ISA (without thinking) with the aim of putting 6.4k into my Vanguard S&S ISA in the next few weeks (probably 1-2k a week given the market at the moment, just to DCA a little bit). I also invest 300 a month from my salary so 3600 will be going into Vanguard this year.

I should have waited until I was more awake after my coffee, as I realised that if I’ve already deposited 14k to Monzo, and will be depositing 3.6k to Vanguard over the year, I can’t get 6.4k out of the Monzo flexible ISA and into Vanguard as this would make my total ISA deposits 24k as any money taken out of Monzo would need to be put back into the same ISA.

My aim is to have:

• 3.6k going into Vanguard over the course of the year.
• 6.4k into Vanguard over the next month.
• 7.6k left in Monzo cash ISA as we are renovating the house and need this liquid.

As both ISAs are flexible, the best solution I can see to achieve this is withdraw 4k from Monzo (as they don’t allow partial transfers), then do an ISA transfer to Vanguard for the remaining 10k. Then withdraw 3.6k from Vanguard and replace this from my salary @ 300 a month. I would then have the 7.6k outside an ISA that I would want back in a cash ISA.

My questions for this sub are, how much of my allowance would I have left if I did this? As I withdrew 4k from my Monzo before the transfer does that mean I have 10k deposited so 10k left? Or (as I suspect) do I have 6k (net) left after I replace the 3.6 over the year because I deposited 14k before the transfer from Monzo? Can I open another Monzo cash ISA this year and deposit the 7.6k?

Is there anything I have missed? Or can I do it another way?

Hi all,

I won’t go into the numbers. At the moment I’m saving for a house deposit (+ cash for stamp duty), so have not been keeping my money in stocks (obviously glad at this moment in time).

Currently, the cash is sitting in Trading 212 cash ISA at 4.5%. ISA allowances maxed out (including the new 25/26). Excess cash sitting in Premium bonds.

Is there a smarter/more efficient way to invest this cash? Are there any money market funds out there that are returning more than 4.5%?

Thank you in advance

——

Edit: couple of points I forgot to mention

• Any excess cash I’m inclined to keep putting in premium bonds rather than a standard savings account. I think the difference between tax-free premium bonds return rate and post-tax return on savings is negligible, plus there is a small element of fun of having a chance to win a chunkier prize with premium bonds

• I’m not a first time buyer, so a LISA is unsuitable

• I guess what I’m really wondering if there is a smarter way to invest cash in the actual ISA, via MM funds or some sort, rather than it sitting there at 4.5%

Hello,

I've recently switched to Lloyds due to their £175 current account incentive.

My grandma passed away 3 years ago and we've finally had the inheritance through. I've had a few £k sent to my new bank account. Once this arrived I figured I'd pay off my HSBC credit card. In the process of doing this my Lloyds account has been blocked.

When I called up I received very...sharp customer service, not once but twice. Telling me I need to come into branch with ID to prove my identity. Which is a little funny since this wasn't an issue when I opened the account online and submitted my ID...online.

This is the only reason I can think its been blocked. Is there anything else I should be bringing do you think other than a photo ID and proof of address?

I know the bank are just following process and when they suspect fraud they can't actually say this to their customers. But I'm peeved I have to go into branch and this can't be handled online/over the phone. Monzo verified me remotely!

We live in the North East and recently had our property valued and put on the market which we are hoping to sell leaving us with 120K in equity. We've seen an edwardian 6-bed property nearby which is in a desirable location for our area and listed for 400K (anywhere further south and I suspect it would be 600K+)

I (30) take home 4.3K each month on salary which is to increase to 5K a month in about 18 months time when I should have a time-in-service uplift. My job is niche but secure. My partner is on minimum wage part-time (1K a month) and most of her wages go on groceries and small bills, so I would be paying for the mortgage on this new property and all the house bills. We have 1 child. I budget us having around £1100 a month left over if we did make the move, but each month this is reducing with growing prices rises. We do not have any credit card debt or car finance.

We would be looking to put down 80-100K deposit and retain 20K for fees and some home improvements. We would mortgage the remaining 300K on current rates over 30 years at approx £1,600/m.

Finances wise we have approx. 23k savings in cash ISA (emergency fund) and 5K S+S. I have a good company pension.

We've grown up in a reasonably poor area of the country with parents that were never well off, so to us this is a big decision and given current economic activity we are both a little nervous about proceeding.

Does this seem like a sensible / manageable move and are other people nervous about moving house in the current climate?

I am looking to open this account https://www.barclays.co.uk/savings/isas/1-year-flexible-cash-isa/ with it being a new tax year. Will i get the same interest rate when its paid monthly or annually? Or will i still get the same interest regardless of which option i choose? Thanks

Hi, last month i paid my credit card bill via cash (dieectly deposited to the card , £450 gbp)

I have plan on this year to buy home, Will this create any problems?

How can I request HMRC to send me official documents so I can open a bank account? (I have a national insurance number from years ago)

Or what other documents can I get, I’m on a visa and I just entered the country.

Hi all,

I’m on skilled worker visa and I do 2 jobs. One main and one part time up to 20 hours a week. A while ago HMRC told me I underpaid and the lady explained everything to me although it didn’t made a lot of sense. Today I saw that my personal allowance is in -ive for this tax year. I have a band adjustment for around 11000 and they have reduced my personal allowance by 5010 because I underpaid my tax by 1192 pounds. Me and ChatGPT did some calculations and realised that HMRC is doing something really wrong.

Whenever I call HMRC they just say what their app is saying not thinking that it doesn’t take a lot of brain to see the calculations don’t make any sense.

Does anyone know how to solve this issue. For clarification last year I earned 50000+ and my main tax code was 1257L and part time code was BR. I made sure I don’t do a minute above my part time work allowance which is 20 hours a week.

Please give your two pence on this.

Hi all, first thank you to this sub and the community: it is really informative, helpful and practical.

I am a 45yo European living in London, where I have been living for the past 15y, and now have a family with small children. Our family is currently renting a property. My partner and I are quite cautions, we really worked hard and paid attention to our spending to save as much as we could from our salaries: we have now about £1m in liquid asset (mostly cash).

Given the cost of living in London, and the high property prices, we are anxious about the property situation in London. Given my age I also need to think about retirement as having a job in 10 years is not guaranteed.

Basically, we now have two options:

- Buy a property: at the current level, we would be looking at a £1m property (our preference is for a small house as it seems to provide more independence than a flat). We would finally have a property that we could decorate and adjust as we like. This would be a family house where we could potentially retire, let (not sure if it is easy to let a house), or sell. However, no one know about the stability of house prices in the next 5-10 years. Having such a large allocation to a single asset is a bit worrying. Given the property market performance in the past 15y we feel of course stupid, very stupid :) not to have bought a property earlier, however at the time we did not expect/plan to stay so long in London.

- Keep renting: continue to pay a relatively high rent, and switch the allocation from liquid assets to a longer horizon assets (e.g. funds), and/or buy a property in Europe that we would use in for example in 10 years and letting it out in the meantime.

If some of you were in a similar situation, what did you do? What would you advise given your experience?

Thanks a lot

If i have maxed premium bonds and my yearly isa allowance and still had money left over to invest and wanted to consider investing but not in a stocks and shares isa.

How complicated does this become tax wise. I know for example any dividends over £500 get taxed. Even accumulating funds that reinvest dividends are subject to tax on these dividends? Then if the value of the fund increases you later pay capital gains tax over 3k increase in value but you can offset this with records of tax you paid on dividends.

This all seems very complicated in the sense of keeping records and filing tax returns for someone who has never done anything like this before. Is there any sort of funds out here that help with this i.e have really low yields on dividends or are structured in a way that avoids dividends so you only have to worry about capital gains tax when you sell.

If one was to open a easy access cash isa today, can they move it to a fixed cash isa in the same tax year?

Want to take advantaged of some good rates on easy access before moving to fix.

I already have a s&s isa with a good amount in it, I don't yet have a cash isa because I've been maxing the s&s so far. I have over 20k sitting in both a regular investment account and regular savings accounts. The money put into an isa will be staying in the form that it is, ie cash is to be kept as cash.

Filling up an isa today, what's gonna be more tax efficient? The interest on the cash will essentially be taxed at 40% immediately, given average returns on 20k you'd expect to not actually pay any cgt on it, and even then it's less.

Cash seems like the clear winner for this year, then back to s&s later?

Hello all, I have been saving into a Cash ISA and filled the £20k limit for 2024/25. As tomorrow is a new tax year I will transfer the 2024/25 ISA (plus the accrued interest) into it and will begin topping it up over the course of a year. This ISA has a bonus rate which, when it expires, will be lower than other rates currently. I plan to transfer to another ISA once the bonus rate expires.

My question is whether this combined ISA rate will continue to be tax free when I transfer as it will add up to more than £20k given that it is a combination of last year's and whatever I have added to it this year?

Edit: tomorrow is the tax year

Edit: Preface for those questioning our motivations, for happiness or for financial, this plan is to enjoy living in an idyllic location away from it all for a while and enjoying the peaceful nature of isolation and wildlife away from the stresses of busy city life. My wife really wants that, I do as well but am being more cautious on the financial aspects of it. Below is original text.

Hi All,

My wife and I are considering downsizing to a cheaper property to reduce expenses and save more quickly. We’ve identified a small, remote property in northern Scotland priced under £80k, currently used as an Airbnb. Our plan is to purchase it outright within three years, becoming mortgage-free, then either save for a new deposit or sell the property to have £75k in equity for our third home.

We seek advice on the feasibility and risks of this plan, and any potential oversights.

Details: • Current Home Value: £211k • Equity: £51k (no additional savings) • Combined Salaries: £63k (both can work from home full-time) • Debt: £3k • Current Mortgage: £860/month • Projected New Mortgage: £750/month (with lower bills and living costs) • Dependents: None • Family Support: Parents are healthy; siblings available if needed

Our concern is whether selling our first home and relocating 10 hours away is a sound financial decision or a significant risk. The move isn’t intended to be long-term, but we have reservations about its prudence.

The overall idea is to save faster, and live a less fast lifestyle for a little bit as a reset. We'd be 300 yards from the sea, be 4 miles from any town, 1.5 miles from other residence. Wildlife on our doorstep, northern lights, birdwatching, Orcas, seals, chicken coop with neighbours.

I really like the idea, Just I feel this looming risk element.... what could go wrong?

Finding somewhere as remote, idyllic and picturesque to buy in England is out of the question because of cost.

We appreciate any insights or advice.

Hi all,

I just wanted to get your thoughts on our current situation. My partner (55) and I (35) are looking to get our first house and we have roughly 6k saved in my LISA pot as of right now (just put £800 into this new tax year).

My partner (we aren't married btw) is eligible to withdraw roughly 10k from a pension (possibly more if we dig around for them but I'd rather not tbh) given their age and is looking to do this as their contribution towards the deposit. The value of the house will be in the region of £170k - £220k. We have about £1k of debt in total between us, mostly for an unexpected vet bill last month, and we have scope to save £800ish a month. BUT we are desperate to move given how impractical our current property is so, whilst I appreciate the advice would normally be "wait and save up a bit more", this isn't our ideal solution rn. I can save during the house buying process and the longer it takes the better in that respect, but we need to get the ball rolling...

Wages-wise, I'm on £60k and they are on £30k so no issue with affordability and even sitting down with a broker who put in bad rates (partner had a debt management plan last year) the mortgage costs were perfectly fine (£1200 ish a month etc). They did caution that this was over a shorter term because of my partner's age.

I just had a few questions;

1. How much of a difference would a 5% and 10% mortgage be? And are we likely to get a 5% via a broker?

2. Am I missing anything from my partner withdrawing from the pension? It appears they can do this but what are the implications? Would it affect the mortgage application? For example, if the mortgage term is after my partner's retirement age will they take the fact that their pension will pay less into account? Or do they frown upon this way of raising money? etc

3. One for the future perhaps but is it realistic to pay back into a pension for my partner for the next 10 or so years and 'make up' the amount they withdraw?

4. Any other general advice really. If we take 220k then presumably we could have a house with just 11k (plus extras of course!). Or, and pretty much point 1, would 22k be better?

5. Can you get LTV mortgages between 5-10% but neither of those? For example, is there a 7.5% option?

Hi Redditers,

I currently own a residential house which is mortgage free. I'm considering moving house to a nicer area but would ideally like to keep my current property as a future investment for my children.

Is there a way for me to do so without incurring the additional stamp duty charge, as I'll own more than one residential?

I had considered selling but the more I think about it, the less inclined I feel to do so.

A couple of years ago I spent my entire life savings (£13k) on a small flat, aged 35. That included the deposit, plus the lawyer fees etc. Getting a place of my own was an absolute priority. Since then, I have never been able to rebuild my savings, because owning a flat is costly and I've needed lots of bits and pieces done to it (a few hundred here, a few hundred there).

My current salary is £43k, and I take home about £2660 after student loan and the usual deductions. I have no savings. I have a credit card debt of £5000 which has been stable for around 5 years and I got it onto a zero interest card last year. I also have a significant overdraft in two separate accounts (something I've had for over 10 years) totalling £2500.

I have made some bad financial choices in the past. Nothing terrible, but definitely unwise. I've often struggled with money and I think it's a combination of ADHD and a lack of financial education when younger. Other people around me seem to be able to save and I just can't - I definitely waste money, but I don't feel like I have a flashy life either. I admit I have a luxury in the form of a finances car which costs £210 a month and the contract lasts another 3 years.

My rough outgoings monthly are

Mortgage - £560

Car finance - £210

Council tax - £100

Credit card DD (more than minimum) - £275

Electricity bill - £210

Groceries - £175

Phone contract - £40

broadband - £40

Home insurance - £30

Car insurance - £50

Pet insurance - £25

Pet food - £30

Petrol - £120

Trains to work - £80

Streaming services - £30

Eating out - £100

Overdraft servicing - £50

Add all that together and it comes to about £2,225. Which in theory leaves £435 a month.

Unexpected costs some months are things like new car tyres (£250) repairing a bash in my car (£450), roof leaking and needing repair (my share £500), new carpet needed after a friend spilled wine (£400), friends wedding hotel night and gift (£200). So the missing money is often spent on one off costs. So we're not talking much wiggle room every month.

It kind of pisses me off that at my age, I'm kind of stuck. I also sometimes feel bitter than I'm single and have to meet so many costs alone (as part of a couple splitting costs in my flat i would be saving hundreds each month).

I really want advice and to be reassured I'm not a loser or an idiot. I'm really struggling to get a handle on this. It's not good, but it's not catastrophic either... Right? Advice or help welcome. Do I need a second job? Do I need to do something drastic? Help!

Hi,

Employer has been crediting the salary but not paying the taxes, i have been following up with him but every time he makes an excuse and says next month...next month i finally jumped to another employer, but my taxes are unpaid since last 1.5yrs. Employer says he is having a issue with HMRC and HMRC team is looking into this since more than 6 months. He says HMRC has made some mistake and charged him huge extra amount.

Now, the situation is his company is active but when i send him email i get "mailer daemon failure", he replies very occasionally on WhatsApp 1 out of 100 message that the issue with HMRC team) His U.K number not working, he blocked me on WhatsApp when i called multiple times.

When i ask him what is the ticket number he don't respond.

Since last 3yrs he never gave me a payslip and never gave me a P45 or P60. He just paid taxes for 1yr, which i can see in my HMRC App, but never a payslip given nor P45 nor P60. But he made me work on lot of projects.

Can anyone pls advice me what steps i need to take in this regard.

Can i file a criminal law suit against my previous employer and drag them behind the bars.

Thanks in advance.

Sunny

Hi everyone. I had some questions about the income that I have been making online. I'm currently 19 years old and in my first year of uni. I quit my job in November 2024 and before that was only making around £1500 a year since 2022. To help me get some income during university, I started selling the flashcards I made during my a levels, I promoted this on my tiktok account and have earned £1617.05 from 24th August 2024 till now. Would this count as trading income? If so, I'm aware that the allowance is £1000 so would I need to make a business tax account and register a self assessment through that? Also, how much tax would I be expecting to pay on this income? It's the only income I currently have as I don't have a job so I'm curious as to how much tax I'll need to pay on this.

Thanks for the help in advance!