Blog & Guides

Missed HMRC's 5 October deadline to register for Self Assessment? Here's how to register late, when your return is due and how to avoid a penalty.

Child Benefit and maternity pay rise from April 2027, self-employed dads get parental pay from 2029, and childcare help and the £60,000 charge stay the same.

NHS and Teachers' pensions usually can't move to a SIPP. Private final salary and LGPS pensions often can, with advice over £30,000. Here's how the rules work.

From 6 April 2027 you can earn £3,000 a year from a side hustle tax-free and without registering. For 2026/27 the limit is still £1,000. Here's what changes.

From April 2029, only £2,000 a year of pension salary sacrifice stays free of National Insurance. Who it affects, what it costs and how it touches maternity pay.

Auto-enrolment minimums stay at 8% of earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 in 2026/27. Here's what the Pensions Commission says could change, and when.

Self-employed dads can't get paternity pay now, but a Parental Allowance is due from April 2029. What you can get before then and how to save for time off.

The 28 October 2026 Budget kept pension tax relief, the £60,000 allowance and the 25% tax-free lump sum. Here's what did change, from inheritance tax to the new PTA.

What a £100,000, £200,000 or £500,000 pension pot could pay each month, how annuities and drawdown compare, and how tax and the State Pension fit in.

Your ex has no automatic right to half your pension. How sharing, attachment and offsetting work, what a pension sharing order costs and what to check.

Yes, you can move your SIPP. How cash and in-specie transfers work, how long they take, partial transfers, exit fees and what to check before you switch.

In our example, a 1% pension charge instead of 0.5% leaves about £40,500 less after 41 years. How fees add up, what's capped and how to check yours.

How to plan maternity leave in 2026/27: what SMP pays, using built-up holiday, keeping in touch days, shared parental leave and your pension, with a worked example.

Lost track of a pension from an old job? Here's how to find it in four steps, what details you need, and what to do if the company has gone or you're now self-employed.

A comfortable retirement costs £45,400 a year for one person in 2026. Here's the pension pot that could pay for it, what the State Pension covers and the self-employed angle.

From 6 April 2027, Making Tax Digital covers sole traders and landlords with income over £30,000. Here's who's in, what it costs and what to do in the next six months.

The free MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard is expected to open to the public in 2027/28. Here's what it will show, what 31 October 2026 means and what to do now.

Your right to your old job, asking to go part-time, keeping in touch days, redundancy protection and where to get help if you're struggling after maternity leave.

Overpay the mortgage or top up your pension? How tax relief, employer money, mortgage rates, overpayment limits and access ages compare in 2026/27, with a worked example.

Who gets your pension when you die, when it's tax-free, the end of the 2-year rule, and how Inheritance Tax applies to unused pensions from 6 April 2027.

Lifetime ISA or pension if you're self-employed? Compare bonuses, tax relief and access ages, plus the new 20% charge and the First Time Buyer ISA from 2029.

Pension, tax and NI numbers for 2026/27 in one place, plus what the Budget changes from April 2027: State Pension, Child Benefit, voluntary NI and more.

Should your limited company pay into your pension, or should you? How employer contributions, Corporation Tax, dividends and tax relief compare in 2026/27.

What the 28 October Budget changed for the self-employed: a £3,000 trading allowance, higher mileage rates, MTD penalty relief and parental pay from 2029.

SMP vs Maternity Allowance in 2026/27: who pays each, who qualifies, the £194.32 rate, company maternity pay, your partner's job and what to do if refused.

How Shared Parental Leave and Pay work in 2026/27: who qualifies, the £194.32 weekly rate, Maternity Allowance, notice rules and what happens to both pensions.

How long paternity leave is, how much Statutory Paternity Pay is in 2026/27, the April 2027 rise, and the new pay for self-employed dads from April 2029.

How much maternity pay you get in 2026/27, whether it's full pay, why it changes each month, and what the April 2027 rise means if your leave runs past April.

Build a leave buffer from your own income, spending and dates, not a number someone else picked.

Your employer keeps paying into your pension on paid maternity leave, based on your normal salary. Here's what changes, your State Pension and tax relief.

Child Benefit, maternity grants, food support and other help, with the differences across the UK nations.

How the high-income charge works, what 'adjusted net income' means, and why claiming without the cash can still matter.

The time-sensitive money admin after birth, without turning early parenthood into a paperwork marathon.

Is going back to work worth it? Compare take-home pay, the childcare you'll really use, 30 funded hours, Tax-Free Childcare, Universal Credit and your pension.

The different national schemes, term dates, stretched hours, provider extras, and help with what's left on the bill.

A worked comparison of pro-rated salary, take-home pay, childcare, work costs and employer pension contributions, with every assumption shown.

A manageable review of cash buffers, pensions, insurance and admin once your working pattern has changed.

How reduced hours and career breaks change retirement saving, without turning the gap into a guilt trip.

Compare who owns the money, when it can be accessed, how it's taxed and what risk it carries before you pick an account.

How much a UK sole trader may need to set aside for Income Tax and NI in 2026/27 and 2027/28, with worked examples and what the Autumn Budget 2026 changed.

How Self Assessment payments on account work in 2026/27, who has to make them, how to reduce them, and what changes when in-year payments start in April 2029.

Who needs Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and when, the first-year penalty easements for 2026/27 and 2027/28, and why you won't pay tax quarterly yet.

Self-employed with uneven income? You can pay into a pension monthly, with one-off payments, or both. Here are the 2026/27 limits and how carry forward works.

How pension tax relief works if you're self-employed in 2026/27: the automatic 20%, claiming higher-rate relief, the tax return box and what it won't cut.

How one-off pension payments work, including tax relief, annual limits and carry forward.

Compare the practical differences without relying on an arbitrary profit threshold.

When to tell HMRC you're self-employed, the 5 October deadline, and how the trading allowance rising to £3,000 from April 2027 changes who must register.

A practical incorporation checklist, including identity checks and the responsibilities that follow.

What sole traders can claim as expenses in 2026/27, the 55p mileage rate made permanent, 35p over 10,000 miles and the £3,000 trading allowance from April 2027.

How a job and a side business fit together for tax, NI and Self Assessment, and how the £3,000 trading allowance from April 2027 changes who must register.

Understand the two registration tests, what changes after registration and when voluntary registration may help.

What inside and outside IR35 mean, who decides and what to check before accepting a contract.

Create clear invoices, agree payment terms and know the next steps when a business client pays late.

Give everyday cash, emergency savings and retirement money different jobs.

Use a simple cash-flow forecast to see when a quiet month could become a cash shortage.

Since April 2024 the self-employed don't have to pay Class 2 NI. Here's what you pay in 2026/27, what counts for your State Pension, and Class 2 vs Class 3.

Work backwards from the business income you need and the days you can realistically bill.

The questions to settle before a project begins, from scope and payment to ownership and changes.

Understand the different jobs business insurance and income protection can do.

Budget for the break itself, the bills that continue and the delay before income restarts.

Maternity Allowance for self-employed mums, what self-employed dads and partners can get (including the new Parental Allowance from April 2029), and a plan.

Where to check support when income falls, illness stops work or household circumstances change.

What construction deductions mean and how they fit into your final tax calculation.

Prepare the evidence a lender may need without assuming every lender uses the same rules.

Understand what changes when you take on an employee or another freelancer.

Close the business records and registrations properly, even if you’re moving straight into a job.

Understand the assumptions behind pension illustrations, from contributions and tax relief to growth, inflation and retirement income.

The tax, business and pension terms you’ll meet, explained without the jargon.

Your spare change, plus 25% from HMRC, straight into your pension.

There's no single best pension if you're self-employed. Compare a SIPP, personal pension, Nest, Lifetime ISA and limited company payments for 2026/27.

Going freelance? The 2026/27 tax rates, payments on account, allowable expenses, the 55p mileage rate (35p over 10,000 miles from 2027) and pensions.

You can pay into your partner's pension while they're at home with the kids. Here's how tax relief works, what happens on leave and how to catch up later.

Your first graduate pay packet in 2026/27, how your student loan really works, your workplace pension, and what the Budget changed for Lifetime ISA savers.

Most money regrets come from defaults, not bad choices. Five simple habits for subscriptions, bills, savings, pay rises and lost pensions, with 2026/27 figures.

Comparing job offers? Look past salary to the employer pension, tax and NI bands, student loan and Child Benefit thresholds, with 2026/27 figures and an example.

Present bias, loss aversion, stress spending and sunk costs trip up smart people. How each habit works, and simple defaults that do the hard part for you.

ISA or pension? How tax relief, the £20,000 ISA and £60,000 pension allowances, the 2027 savings tax rise and access ages compare in 2026/27.

There's no set retirement age in the UK. How to plan later life in stages, when you can take your pension (55, then 57 from 2028) and how tax relief helps.

Yes, you can have a SIPP and a workplace pension. How they compare in 2026/27, whether your employer can pay into a SIPP, and how tax relief works on both.

What an individual pension plan is, the three main types, how tax relief and fees work in 2026/27, and how to compare providers before you pick one.

Can you move an old pension into a SIPP? How transfers work, how long they take, when you need an adviser, what you could lose and how to avoid scams.

How much the State Pension pays in 2026/27 and from April 2027, whether you'll pay tax on it, how many National Insurance years you need and how to claim.

Is it worth combining your old pensions into one? When it can cut fees, when it can cost you, what to check first, and what happens when you go freelance.

How a personal pension or SIPP works and how tax relief tops it up in 2026/27: £80 becomes £100, extra relief at 40% and 45%, Scotland and the limits.

A pension is money you save for later life, topped up by tax relief and often your employer. How it works, the 2026/27 State Pension and when you can take it.

The three main UK pensions side by side for 2026/27: the £241.30 State Pension, workplace pension minimums, personal pensions and having more than one.