More people than ever are being stung by the 60 per cent tax trap , which affects those earning between £100,000 and £125,150 a year. While the official top income tax rate is 45 per cent for earnings above £125,140, the removal of the personal allowance above £100,000 means an even higher marginal rate just below that.
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How much YOUR water bill will rise in the next five years - and what you can do NOW to help prevent higher costs
Water bills are due to rise for almost all of the country - and residents of just one lucky region will see these costs drop. The water bill changes are laid out in proposals by regulator Ofwat, which has analysed the spending plans of English and Welsh water companies. But there are some things you can do to cut water bills, especially if you have a water meter fitted.
Got a water meter? Getting a new toilet could save you £109 a year on your bills - as waste now costs some homes £300
Households could save £300 on their water bills each year by cutting down on waste and thirsty appliances - and getting a new toilet could save more than £100. Moving from a traditional flush toilet to one with a dual flush saves £109 a year on average, the research found - with toilets using 22% of all water used in a home. However, they will need to be on a water meter in order to benefit.
Which companies have the best customer service? Survey shows top 10... but most are falling FAR below expectations
Customer service levels at the country's biggest companies have deteriorated, according to a report. The latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index by the Institute of Customer Service asked 60,000 people what they thought of the customer service at 275 major firms - and found that satisfaction was at its lowest level since 2010. Retailers top the customer satisfaction list, with seven of the top 10 organisations in that sector.
Forget supermarket price matches and loyalty cards, Aldi is still far cheaper for the weekly shop than anywhere else
Aldi has been crowned the cheapest supermarket for a trolley-load of 65 products, new findings reveal. In June, the average bill for a trolley of 65 items at Aldi was £118.41, coming in £32.60 less than at Waitrose, which was the most expensive, at £151.01. Waitrose was found to be nearly 28 per cent more expensive than Aldi for the same products in June.
CRANE ON THE CASE: Sofa, so BAD! I ordered a couch from DFS 18 months ago and STILL don't have all the right parts
I ordered a new sofa in my local branch of DFS in January 2023, but I have still yet to receive all the correct parts. I had ordered a model where the back of the middle seat folds into a drop-down table, but the back on the sofa that I got was static. A year and a half after placing my order, my front room is now littered with unsuitable sofa parts I have been sent, and I still haven't got the sofa I wanted. Please help.
We'll be dealing with the aftermath of 20% inflation over three years for a while yet, warns LEE BOYCE
Rejoice. The Bank of England has tamed the inflation dragon and has cut it down to its fabled target 2% for the first time since July 2021. But crunching the Office for National Statistics figures, our analysis shows inflation has totalled 20% since then as households have wrestled a higher cost of everything crisis.
Council tax arrears in England hits a record high of nearly £6bn and is up 67% since 2019 as households struggle with rising bills
National Debtline said a third of its callers are in council tax arrears, and that it is the most common priority debt that its advisers heard about. The charity said that on average its callers owe £1,762 in arrears, which has increased by 49 per cent from just £1,181 in 2019. Council tax arrears are known as a 'priority debt', meaning that they need to be paid ahead of others such as credit card debt.
Lump sums from Bank of Mum and Dad make children MORE reckless with money: What age do people reach financial maturity where you are?
Adult children who receive a significant amount of money from their parents become financially independent up to a year and a half later than others, research claims. A fifth of adults receive a lump sum payment from their parents when they turn eighteen , according to Wealthify, and are given £15,314 on average. The age people reach financial independence also varies across the country.
CRANE ON THE CASE: A burst pipe flooded our home... why is insurer Policy Expert's proposed payout £4,942 LESS than our quote to fix the damage?
Earlier this year, we had a burst pipe in our utility room, which flooded the downstairs of our house. We made a claim with our insurer, Policy Expert. We had several problems along the way but they eventually came back with a figure of £4,611 for the repairs. However, the quotes we got from tradesmen suggested it would cost more than double that at £9,553. They said the materials alone would cost £4,600, leaving just £11 for labour if we accepted the insurer's payout. I knew the insurance quote would be a conservative estimate, but this seems ridiculously low.
What the Conservative manifesto means for your finances: From an NI tax cut, to pensions and stamp duty
The Conservative Party has launched its manifesto in a bid to woo voters ahead of July's general election with a package of tax-cutting measures. As well as another 2p national insurance cut, Rishi Sunak has pledged to protect pensions from tax and offer more help to first-time buyers, as he looks to build a broad coalition of voters. We look at what the proposed policies would mean for your finances.
'A company car took away my child benefit': How work perks can unexpectedly increase your tax burden
I started claiming for child benefit a few years after the £50,000 cap was introduced. I had been earning below the cap and my wife was earning around £5,000 part-time while she juggled the kids. I was not aware my car and fuel benefit counted towards my calculated income. At the time my income was below £50,000 but the benefit in kind values pushed me above. I may be eligible to claim again now the threshold is £60,000, but my work benefits have changed. What else is included as income for these purposes?
The questions you REALLY don't want to get wrong on your car insurance application... and that could invalidate your cover if you do
With average car insurance prices at an all-time high of £635 a year, it makes sense not to fall foul of some of the seemingly innocent insurance questions that can trip up unwary drivers. Not answering some questions fully can have serious consequences - and even invalidate your car insurance completely.
I earn £65,000 - should I start taking child benefit again now the rules have changed?
I am a full-time working mum and earn £65,000 a year while my husband who works in a care home earns about £27,000. We have two children aged 6 and 4. When my first daughter was born I earned under £50,000 and so initially took child benefit. When my salary then went up, I stopped taking it and have not claimed it for the past four years - but I heard the allowances have changed and now I could be eligible again.
Should you claim child benefit? What it's worth, who gets paid if after the rules changed - and the common traps to avoid
Child benefit is paid if you are responsible for a child who is under 16, or under 20 if they are still in school or on an approved training course. Only one person can claim child benefit for any individual child, but there is no limit on the number of children for whom you can receive payments. Controversial income thresholds that bar better off parents from getting child benefit were introduced in 2013, although these were recently eased and a further relaxation in the rules is due in 2026.
Is your ex hiding assets to avoid sharing them in a divorce? Retired judge STEPHEN GOLD explains what happens if bitter spouses go rogue
Are you sitting? Stand by for a shock. Sometimes, one or both parties withhold the existence of assets or underestimate their value, says Stephen Gold in his new guide to divorce. Today, he looks at how to reach an agreement, and what happens when one ex tries to cheat the other out of their fair share of marital assets
What the Universal Credit rule changes could mean for YOUR payments
New Universal Credit rules mean that those claiming the benefit will now be required to look for more work if they don't meet higher earnings thresholds. Claimants could be forced to look for more work lose out on some or all of their Universal Credit payments if they earn less than the equivalent of working for 18 hours at the national living wage.
HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP
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- Will Labour end 'unfairness' of frozen state pensions for half a million expats?
- 'University is my biggest regret': I earn £70,000 and it's STILL not enough to pay down my student loan
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- EXCLUSIVEThe sweet spot when EVs become better value than petrol cars revealed
- Have you got financial confidence - and would it make you richer?
BILLS: DON'T MISS
- What inflation falling means for you: CPI falls to Bank of England's 2% target - what happens next?
- What the UK general election means for the economy and your finances
- What the Labour manifesto means for your finances: From income tax, to pensions and 'securonomics'
- What the Conservative manifesto means for your finances: From an NI tax cut, to pensions and stamp duty
- What the Lib Dem manifesto means for your finances: Free personal care, CGT hikes and a spending increase
- Should you claim child benefit? What it's worth - and common traps
- How to save money on broadband and mobile phone bills as prices rise
- Car insurance questions you REALLY don't want to get wrong: These could invalidate your cover
- Typical energy bill set to fall by £116 in July, latest Cornwall Insight forecast predicts
ANSWERS FROM THE Experts
- I sent back a laptop, but the retailer says package never arrived - what do I do? DEAN DUNHAM replies
- I rejected my online shop as items were missing - can Tesco still charge for delivery? DEAN DUNHAM replies
- What business expenses can self-employed people write off against tax? HEATHER ROGERS explains
- Has our tax expert Heather Rogers answered YOUR question yet?
- Do I have to pay for a new smart meter after mine broke? DEAN DUNHAM replies
- Granddaughter caught speeding during driving lesson. Is the instructor liable? DEAN DUNHAM replies
- Our father died seven years ago, why are we still waiting for £200,000 of our inheritance? TONY HETHERINGTON investigates
- My ex-boyfriend plans to leave me his £2m estate and I'm worried about a huge inheritance tax bill
- Why did Barclays freeze our Neighbourhood Watch bank account? TONY HETHERINGTON investigates
- My neighbour has started keeping bees - can I stop him? DEAN DUNHAM replies
LATEST ON HOUSEHOLD Cost of living & bills
- Young children are incredibly curious about money and our working lives - we should help feed that curiosity, says LEE BOYCE
- Our Octopus smart meter went dumb, now our bills are rising: CRANE ON THE CASE
- How eye-watering £470 cost of attending festivals is pricing out younger music fans
- Chilly Britons turned on the central heating en masse in JUNE - racking up £6m more in extra energy bills
- Student loan debts revealed as nearly 2m people now owe £50k or more
- What inflation falling means for you: CPI stays at Bank of England's 2% target - what happens next?
- Half a MILLION caught in the 60% tax trap by earning £100,000
- Biggest cost in car insurance is falling - so why have premiums soared?
- HMRC hounds expat for more than seven years - for money he never owed them in the first place
- Do you live 'for now' or prioritise the future? Why having money doesn't necessarily mean you can afford to spend it