Boosting income

Got a side hustle trading goods, creating online content or providing a service such as dog walking or delivery driving? New plans from the Government mean you will – in future – be able to earn up to £3,000 without having to submit a self-assessment tax return. But the change may not come in until 2029, and it DOESN'T mean you'll pay less tax. Here's what we know so far.

Campaigners have called on the Government to fix "absurd flaws" with the benefits system that prevent vulnerable people from getting help from family and friends to manage their universal credit accounts. Without this help, campaigners warn claimants ultimately risk losing their benefits.    

A new plastic £50 note featuring the inventor and codebreaker Alan Turing has been revealed by the Bank of England today. It will launch into circulation from 23 June and will eventually replace the current paper design featuring entrepreneur Matthew Boulton and engineer James Watt.    

Some 1.3 million people are expected to start paying income tax and a million more will become higher-rate taxpayers by 2026 after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced income tax thresholds are to be frozen after a rise this April. The Government's also freezing the pensions lifetime allowance and the thresholds for capital gains tax and inheritance tax.

Millions of universal credit claimants will continue to get a £20/week uplift to their payments for a further six months, it was announced today, after Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled a series of benefits adjustments in his 2021 Budget.