BUSINESS

Britons only have a few days left to exchange or use their old paper £20 and £50 notes before they stop becoming legal tender on September 30. To date, £1.2billion worth of paper £20 and £50 banknotes have been deposited at Post Office’s 11,500 branches and it is preparing itself for a last minute rush

The gold price has crashed by 14.63 percent in the last six months to $1,643 an ounce. That is almost 20 percent below the all-time high of $2,034 it hit in August 2020, at the height of the Covid pandemic. Gold is supposed to shine in tough times like these, yet the reverse has happened

Yorkshire Building Society’s three-year Fixed Rate ISA account was highlighted as a “Pick of the Week” by MoneyFacts.co.uk this week. The account’s interest rate is fixed at 3.5 percent until October 31, 2025 and the interest is calculated daily on the cleared balances. Interest is paid annually, with the next interest payment dates being October

Inheritance tax is a tax on the estate of someone who has died and an estate is classed as a person’s property, possessions and money. It is usually charged at 40 percent on anything above the nil-rate band allowance. The standard nil-rate band is £325,000 per person, however, there are a few different ways a

Last Thursday, the BoE’s monetary policy committee (MPC) hiked interest rates by 0.5 percent in a bid to slow demand and curb inflation. Next day Kwarteng unleashed the biggest tax-cutting drive since 1972, as he targets a return to trend growth of 2.5 percent a year. This leaves these two financial figureheads in conflict with

Steve Webb, a former pensions minister and partner at LCP, broke down the “profound effect” the income tax freeze has on those of state pension age. Mr Webb explained: “Freezing tax thresholds is a stealthy way of raising tax at the best of times, but at a time of soaring inflation, freezing thresholds has a

Those who reside in England are eligible for freebie benefits once they reach the state pension age. Among those benefits include the free bus pass and Pension Credit, which entitles claimants to multiple support schemes. Currently, the retirement age threshold is 66 years old but the Government has confirmed this will rise in the near

“The Stamp Duty cut is welcome in two ways. Firstly because its benefits are skewed toward first-time buyers, who are the ones being squeezed hardest by the mismatch between soaring house prices and average salaries that don’t come close to keeping up. “Conventional wisdom is that if you can help more people onto the first

Mini-Budget: Kwarteng announces cut to basic rate income tax Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng made a series of tax cuts in his mini-budget on Friday, but what do Express.co.uk readers think of the changes? Mr Kwarteng set out a £45billion tax-cutting package in the Commons, which resulted in the pound crashing to its lowest level against the

A widow or widower could inherit a part of their deceased partner’s Additional state pension, as long as the marriage or civil partnership with them began before April 6, 2016. One of the following must also apply: A partner reached state pension age before April 6, 2016 The partner died before April 6, 2016 but

As bills continue to rise, many people will be looking at ways to supplement their income. There are many different apps people can use to help turn their hobbies into some extra cash. Express.co.uk spoke exclusively to Meredith, 45, on how she used the app Fiverr to make an extra £300 each month. Meredith’s husband already

Mini-Budget: Kwarteng announces cut to basic rate income tax Liz Truss has been praised for her willingness to take “unpopular decisions” for the good of the economy after Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget, in which he cut taxes for high earners, reduced stamp duty, and scrapped caps on banker bonuses. However, economist Julian Jessop also admitted

The nil-rate stamp duty band is doubled from £125,000 to £250,000 in England and Northern Ireland. This means an average extra 200,000 ­buyers will pay no stamp duty at all. Of those, 60,000 will be first-time buyers. The move means the stamp duty bill on a £312,000 home in England will fall from £5,600 to

The tax cuts, coupled with the energy bills package announced earlier this month, will cost a total of £105billion by 2026 according to Treasury figures. But Labour have claimed the Government has got the mini budget wrong by helping bankers and boardrooms and leaving workers to pick up the bill. Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves slammed

Is it right to cut basic rate of income tax to 19 percent and abolish the 45% higher tax rate? He also announced a cut in basic income tax to 19 percent from April 2023 – down from the current 20 percent paid by English, Welsh and Northern Irish people on annual earning between £12,571

As it stands, anyone 60 or over in England is eligible for free prescriptions on the NHS but that could change. The Government has undertaken a consultation into aligning the ‘freebie’ benefit with the state pension age, which is currently 66. This means over 60s will have to wait longer than expected for the support

Oil prices settled around one percent higher yesterday, Reuters has claimed. The slight surge comes as the market focused on Russian oil supply concerns, Chinese demand rebounded and the Bank of England hiked interest rates. Brent crude futures increased by 0.7 percent to $90.46 after rising by over $2 in an earlier session. US West

This support is available through Attendance Allowance which is designed for state pensioners. The payment helps those with the extra costs that arise from having a long-term health condition or illness, like arthritis. Pensioners who are eligible for the DWP benefit payment could get as much as £92 a week in financial assistance. On the

Pound Sterling has plunged against the US dollar after the Bank of England hiked interest rates to its highest level in 14 years. The British currency slumped quickly by more than half a cent and dipped below $1.13 after the announcement, which has seen interest rates jump by 0.5 percent to 2.25 percent from 1.75

The increase marks the fifth time the mutual has passed rises on to savers this year and will result in the interest rate paid on almost all of its existing variable rate savings book rising to a minimum of 1.80 percent. Customers will also see on sale accounts rising to a minimum of 1.70 percent.