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HAPPY NEW TAX YEAR!

Check your take-home pay, grab 4.6% cash ISA, low income top-ups & more
8 resolutions to get financially fit for 2026/27

Forget 1 January, the New Year that matters for your pocket is the New Tax Year, which started yesterday, 6 April. It's when tax code changes take effect, ISA allowances reset, benefits are uprated & more. So while we covered some of these checks a few weeks back, that was so last (tax) year - even if you checked then, take a few mins now to run through our 8 key 2026/27 checks...

- New tax-free ISAs: Cash ISAs: earn 4.6% | Shares ISAs: free '£50'
- Tax checks: Check pay & tax code | Self-employed? | Marriage tax break
- Income top-ups: Min wage | Benefits: newly eligible? | Unwell aged 66+?

1. SAVER? You've a new cash ISA allowance... Each tax year, anyone aged 18 or older can put £20,000 in total into ISAs. This is about new money you put in, so any money already in ISAs doesn't count towards the £20,000.

The £20,000 is the total limit on the combined amount you put in a cash (savings) ISA, or a shares (investment) ISA, or a lifetime (first-time buyer) ISA (max £4,000). You can put all £20,000 in either cash or shares, or split it across a combination of the three (you can also save/invest a further £9,000 tax-free in a Junior ISA for under-18s).

The 2026/27 allowance kicked in yesterday, and crucially this is the last tax year where many will be able to put the full £20,000 in a cash ISA. From April 2027, it's planned that the annual cash ISA limit will fall to £12,000 for under-65s. The shares ISA will remain at £20,000. The Chancellor argues this is to 'encourage young people to invest.'

But it's business as usual this tax year, and cash ISAs are a clear winner if you pay tax on savings. Even if you don't, easy-access cash ISAs pay higher rates than normal savings right now, so you may as well put your money there first. 

Here are the easy-access best buys - these change fast during ISA season (which is now), so click the article links for the latest rates.

Cash ISA fixes have a special power. The big benefit of fixed-rate savings is, unlike the easy-access accounts above, the rate is guaranteed - it can't move, so you know exactly what you'll earn. 

Yet while normal fixes lock your money away for the term, cash ISA fixes can't do that. They must allow access, normally by closing the account and charging you an access fee of 90 to 360 days' interest (depending on the fix length). 

So while on pre-tax rate alone normal savings pay a tad more (though for those who'd pay tax on interest, cash ISA fixes are far better), if there's a chance you'll need to access the money during the term, cash ISA fixes offer a get-out-of-jail-free card.

2. INVESTOR? You've a new shares ISA allowance... If you're putting money away for the long term (5+ years), on the balance of probability a stocks & shares ISA (in a broad spread of investments, such as global or big country tracker funds) will hopefully substantially outperform saving (watch Martin's audience's surprise when he reveals investing vs savings video).

And the fact you're doing it over the long term, means short-term market volatility, like we're seeing right now, should hopefully be smoothed out. 

Plus, a stocks & shares ISA protects you from tax on dividends (income paid to shareholders based on a company's earnings), which increased on 6 April. Outside of an ISA, you get an allowance of £500/yr, but anything above this now gets taxed at 10.75% (was 8.75%) for basic-rate payers, 35.75% (was 33.75%) for higher-rate payers, and 39.35% (no change) for additional-rate payers. 

3. EMPLOYED? Check your take-home pay and tax code NOW.National Insurance and Income Tax thresholds have been frozen since 2021 (though there have been slight changes in Scotland), while earnings have risen. The result... more of your income goes on tax. This way of increasing tax revenue is called 'fiscal drag'. So check our updated Income Tax and National Insurance Calculator to see how much will end up in your pocket this tax year.

Equally important is our Free Tax Code Calculator - use it to check if your 2026/27 tax code is correct. Your tax code is a series of letters and numbers (eg, 1257L), which tells your employer or pension provider what tax to deduct. However, MILLIONS of codes are wrong each year, so it's crucial to check yours - it's YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, not your employer's, not HMRC's.

4. SELF-EMPLOYED / FREELANCE? Set aside 30% of your income for tax & beware new rules... It's vital to get tax right at the start of the year. Fiscal drag applies here too, and if you don't have money set aside to pay tax, it can be a nightmare when the bill comes in.

So Martin's rule of thumb is for every £100 you're paid, put about £30 aside in a separate account you never touch, for tax and NI (hopefully this is too high, in which case you'll have saved a touch). See Self-Assessment for Beginners.

5. MARRIED / CIVIL-PARTNERED and not claiming Marriage Tax Allowance? It's worth £252 this tax year. If one of you is a non-taxpayer and the other a basic 20% taxpayer, you can transfer tax-free allowances between you, so you pay less tax as a couple.

It's worth up to £252 this tax year, but backdate it the full four years allowed and it can be worth a further £1,008. And once you sign up, you get it every year. Yet 100,000s of eligible couples are still missing out - check you're not one of them in Marriage tax allowance.

6. ON MINIMUM WAGE? Check you're not one of 100,000s being underpaid. The minimum wage has just gone up, so if you're on it, here's what you should now be paid...

- Aged 21+: £12.71/hr (was £12.21/hr) - equiv to £23,132 at 35hrs/wk.
- Aged 18-20: £10.85/hr (was £10/hr) - equiv to £19,747 at 35hrs/wk.
- Apprentices & u18s: £8/hr (was £7.21/hr) - equiv to £14,560/yr at 35hrs/wk.

This is a legal right that applies to ALL workers, including those on salaries. And while the increase took effect from 1 Apr, the new rates are applied to your first FULL pay cycle after then. That's any day now if you're paid weekly so it's the perfect time for many to check you're getting the right amount...

100,000s are underpaid each year, including many at big firms. Common reasons include not being paid for all your working time (eg, overtime and opening/closing up) and having to pay for the likes of uniforms or tools, which pushes you below the minimum. But there are lots of others - check our minimum wage guide for full info, including what to do if you're being underpaid.

7. ON A LOW INCOME? Check if you're newly eligible for means-tested benefits. There are two key tax year changes to benefits that mean it's worth many (re)checking if they're due help...

1. Got 3+ children? The two-child limit ended yesterday (Mon), so if you've a larger family you may now qualify for Universal Credit (UC) even if you previously earned too much to be eligible.
   
   
2. Had a low (or no) pay rise? From Monday, most means-tested benefits are increasing by 3.8% while the standard allowance for UC is going up by 6.2%. As these increases outpace wage growth for many, some low-income households will now likely qualify for help for the first time, even if they didn't last year. 

So if you're struggling on a low income, especially if either or both of the above apply to you, it's worth checking if you could now be entitled. Use our 10-min benefit calc, which has already been updated to include both the changes above.

8. PENSIONER IN POOR HEALTH? Some non-means-tested benefits have also been boosted. Our 10-min benefit calc will give you a rough idea if you qualify for any of them. But a biggie is Attendance Allowance, which is financial support if you're of State Pension age (66+) and require help with certain daily living tasks. It's now worth either £3,990/yr (was £3,842/yr) at the lower amount, or £5,960/yr (was £5,740/yr) at the higher.

Up to one million eligible pensioners are thought to be missing out, often due to misconceptions around what it is and who can get it. So don't just assume that you - or someone you know - won't qualify. Take the time to check. Full help in our Attendance Allowance guide.