Business

HMRC will send a new tax code letter to those eligible (Image: Getty)HMRC will send letters to eligible claimants with a new letter M tax code to boost their tax-free Personal Allowance up to £13,830.The Personal Allowance, the amount of money you can earn without paying any Income Tax on it, has been stuck at £12,570 since 2021 and after the Government’s recent announcement that it will extend the freeze for another 3 years to 2031, the allowance will have been held in place for a decade.Because of inflation, it means more and more people will be pushed into paying more tax, in what is known as fiscal drag.But married couples can boost their Personal Allowance by 10% thanks to Marriage Allowance, a legal tax reduction vehicle offered by HM Revenue and Customs.Those who are married, or ...

W H Darby Ltd manufactures chains of office, insignia, jewellery and more (Image: Getty)A UK jewellery maker has collapsed into administration after being in business since 1886. Family-owned firm W H Darby was founded by Alfred Horatio Darby to produce medals, badges, die-sinks, and metal blocks used for jewellery and coins.Administrators from business recovery specialists, Moorfields Advisory, were appointed by the High Court to manage the business, which is based in Birmingham's famous Jewellery Quarter. It means the business can still trade, but management control has passed from the company's directors to administrators. READ MORE: UK retail sales hit 20-month high with 'unprecedented' surge in jewellery demand READ MORE: UK construction giant collapses into administration - in ...

Monmouthshire Building Society has launched a one-year fixed rate Cash ISA with a "competitive" 4% tax-free interest rate. If a saver deposits the maximum annual balance of £20,000, they would receive a healthy £20,800 by the end of the term.Eleanor Crees, senior product manager at Monmouthshire Building Society, highlighted that this will be the last time most savers can earn tax-free interest on balances up to £20,000. She said: “In the Autumn budget, it was announced that from April 2027, you will only be able to save up to £12,000 a year into a Cash ISA if you are under 65 years of age. Therefore, the 2026/27 tax year will be the last chance that those under 65 will have to save up to £20,000 in a Cash ISA.”The minimum balance for Monmouthshire's ISA is £1,000, and the account has t...

Nationwide Building Society has issued an update about bonus payments for customers (Image: Getty)Nationwide Building Society has explained some of the rules around a bonus payment for customers. The issue came to light after a customer raised an urgent query about their account.The person contacted the group over social media as they had made a current account switch which was soon to be completed, but worryingly their account details had yet to arrive in the post. They said: "I have no Nationwide debit card yet or other account details in the post."I am told Royal Mail delays in my area. I therefore urgently need to have this switch delayed until I get this." When moving over your account through the Current Account Switch Service, all your direct debits and standing orders are automa...

HMRC raked in a whopping £7.1billion in inheritance tax in the first 10 months of this financial year, official figures show. Data released by HM Revenue & Customs on Friday (February 20) showed the take was £100million more than was raised over the same period last year.Isaac Stell, investment manager at investment service, Wealth Club, said new rules bringing pensions into the scope of IHT and frozen allowances mean more families are set to be dragged into the tax net. He added: "At the same time, HMRC’s tougher enforcement is adding further pressure at what is already a difficult time for bereaved families." Wealth Club said recent reporting highlighted mounting public frustration that IHT was impacting middle-income households more, particularly those whose main wealth is tied u...

UK retail sales hit 20-month high with 'unprecedented' jewellery demand surge (Image: Getty)Retail sales jumped last month in the sharpest rise in over 18 months, as online retailers witnessed "unprecedented" demand for jewellery and robust orders for sports supplements during the New Year fitness drive. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the total volume of retail sales, which measures the quantity bought, rose by 1.8% in January, up from growth of 0.4% in December and the largest increase since May 2024.The surge exceeded expectations, with most analysts predicting a modest 0.2% uptick last month. The ONS said online jewellers reported that demand "hit unprecedented levels" last month, with demand booming recently as gold prices jumped to record levels above 5,000 US dollar...

A beer brand is bringing back one of its most popular beers from the 1970s that many will remember. Carling Black Label will be available to buy in supermarkets from March 16, boasting a revamped brew.It comes in at 4.75% ABV, making it 0.75% stronger than Carling Original. It left shelves in 1997 after the 'Black Label' branding was dropped. The beer skyrocketed in popularity after its introduction in 1952, thanks to its “I bet he drinks Carling Black Label” TV ads. Kevin Fawell, UK sales director at Molson Coors Beverage Company, told The Grocer: “Carling Black Label is a full-flavoured lager designed for today’s beer market, and we’re confident it will resonate with both those who remember the name and those discovering it for the first time. To be able to expand the Carling offering...

Grow with Google founder Lisa Gevelber discusses Google's new program to teach small businesses about AI usage and highlights examples of it's application on 'Varney & Co.' Three Silicon Valley engineers were arrested and charged with stealing trade secrets from Google and other U.S. technology firms and transferring sensitive data to unauthorized locations, including Iran, federal prosecutors announced Thursday. Samaneh Ghandali, 41, Soroor Ghandali, 32, and Mohammadjavad Khosravi, also known as Mohammad Khosravi, 40, all of San Jose, were arrested Thursday, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).A federal grand jury indicted the engineers on charges of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, theft and attempted theft of trade secrets, and obstruction of justice. "We ha...

Trading 212 offers market-leading 4.4% Cash ISA - 'getting a real deal' (Image: Getty)Investment platform Trading 212 is offering a market-leading easy access Cash ISA, in a new deal experts have praised as "great". Cash ISAs remain a popular way to earn tax-free interest, with rates varying widely across the market. The current Cash ISA allowance remains at £20,000 per tax year until April 2027, when the allowance will drop to £12,000 for savers aged under 65. With just more than a year left to make the most of the larger threshold, savers are urged to review their savings accounts to find out if they'd benefit from putting their money in a tax-efficient ISA instead.While interest rates are forecast to drop in the weeks to come as expectations for another Bank of England Base Rate cut ...

One in five Brits are planning to invest more this year than last, but a quarter admitted they feel completely out of their depth when managing money.Four in ten are overwhelmed by the amount of unverified information available, with the poll of 2,00 adults showing many Brits are confused about cryptocurrency, crypto wallets (57%), blockchain (53%), investing (24%), tax returns (22%). Many worry about making mistakes when it comes to investing and managing their finances, with a third saying this comes from not being taught about finances in school.In fact, 78% think financial education should be a bigger focus in school, and 28% shared they would feel more confident investing in the future if they had better financial education.Kevan Edgerton, UK Country Director at Bitpanda UK which c...