UK money guides

Income Tax, pay and student loans

• UK tax codes explained — what 1257L means, every letter and prefix, emergency and K codes, and how to check or correct a code.
• Scottish Income Tax explained — the six 2026/27 bands, who counts as a Scottish taxpayer, and side-by-side comparisons with the rest of the UK.
• The £100,000 tax trap — how the Personal Allowance taper creates a 60% effective rate, what adjusted net income is, and how pension contributions and Gift Aid change it.
• Marriage Allowance explained — the £1,260 transfer, who qualifies (including the Scottish rule), what a couple actually saves at different incomes, and backdating.
• Salary sacrifice explained — how a salary sacrifice pension works, the National Insurance saving at three salaries, what GOV.UK says it can affect, and the £2,000 NI cap from April 2029.
• Student loan Plan 2 vs Plan 5 — who is on which plan, the £29,385 and £25,000 thresholds, repayments worked out at different salaries, interest and write-off dates.

Saving and investing

• ISA allowance rules 2026/27 — the £20,000 allowance and how it can be split, the four ISA types, Junior ISAs, flexible ISAs, transfers, and the cash ISA change from April 2027.
• Lifetime ISA withdrawal penalty — why the 25% charge costs more than the bonus, GOV.UK's examples, the £450,000 house price cap and the timing rules.
• Capital Gains Tax on shares — the £3,000 allowance, how the 18% and 24% rates are decided, average-cost pooling and the 30-day rule, losses and the ISA exemption.

Buying a home

• First-time buyer Stamp Duty relief — the SDLT relief in England and NI, the £500,000 cliff edge, Scotland's LBTT relief, why Wales has none, and worked prices side by side.