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The time limit for an individual to fill gaps in their record by paying voluntary National Insurance contributions is 6 years, but deadline extensions are now giving people extra time to plug gaps and boost their State Pensions.

Originally, the cut-off for making voluntary NI contributions for the tax years from 2006–2017 was this April, but the government extended the deadline to the end of this July to give people a little more time to address gaps in their records.

Now, as announced in June, the government is further extending this deadline to 5th April 2025 – allowing an additional couple of years for people to make retrospective NI payments for gaps between 2006–2007 and 2017–2018.

It’s believed the deadline has been extended this far to ensure as many people as possible can get the help they need with completing their NI records, as the government’s pension helplines were reportedly overwhelmed in the last few months.

The cost of voluntary NI contributions for these years is also frozen until the new deadline, at the former rate of £15.85 per week (though the current rate is £17.45).

This means that people can properly consider whether they need to pay voluntary NI contributions or not, preventing some from missing out on increasing their State Pension entitlements. Read on to learn how your pension could be affected.

Fraud is now the most common crime committed in England and Wales, with 1 in 15 people falling victim to fraudsters and 9 in 10 internet users encountering online scams.

Financial fraud can have a devastating impact on people’s lives, with bank accounts and life savings drained in a matter of minutes – fraud victims lost a collective £2.35 billion in 2021.

It can also be costly for businesses, with 18% falling victim in 2017–2020, and UK Finance members from the banking and finance industry losing over £1.3 billion to fraud in 2021.

To tackle the growing threat of fraud in the UK, the government has announced a new initiative – ‘Fraud Strategy: Stopping scams and protecting the public’.

Photovoltaic (PV) systems like solar panels harness energy from sunlight and convert it into electricity, which you can use to power your home or business.
Generating renewable electricity instead of relying on an energy supplier can help to reduce your energy costs. The Energy Saving Trust estimates the average household could save £455 a year by installing solar panels on the roof.
If you generate more electricity than you need, you can sell the excess back to the National Grid, converting the extra energy into extra cash.
With energy prices remaining high, now could be a great time to install solar panels on your property, generating your own energy and selling the excess back to the Grid – but you should be aware of the rules, including potential taxation.

After Inheritance Tax (IHT) receipts doubled between 2012–2022, the latest figures from HMRC revealed that 2023–2024 is on track to become another record-breaking year for IHT revenue.
In 2022–2023, the Treasury raised £7.1 billion from IHT receipts, and based on figures from this April–May being up 9.1% (£1.2 billion) on the previous year, this is likely to rise again to £7.7 billion for the current financial year.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted that annual IHT bills will only raise £7.2 billion this year and reach £8.4 billion by 2027–2028, but the early data suggests that the Treasury’s takings will surpass the official forecasts.
This is likely due to the ongoing nil-rate band (NRB) threshold freeze – fixing the tax-free IHT allowance at £325,000 until 2028 – combined with increasing property values.
With more estates being dragged into the IHT net, the average bill is now almost £62,000, with even larger amounts due for estates that include property in London or South East England.
Here’s a summary of what’s happening with IHT, and what you can do to minimise your estate’s Inheritance Tax liability and leave as much as possible to your loved ones.

There are many reasons why it may be necessary to file a Self-Assessment tax return, but most workers who are taxed through PAYE are exempt from having to do this.

This exemption previously had a total income ceiling of £100,000, but this threshold is now increasing to £150,000 (including gross salary, taxable benefits, and investment income).

At the end of May, HMRC confirmed in Issue 108 of Agent Update that the higher threshold for Self-Assessment tax returns will apply from the current tax year onwards.

This means that PAYE taxpayers who would have been required to complete a Self-Assessment return under the previous threshold – earning over £100,000 a year but less than £150,000 a year – may no longer have to do so from the 2023–2024 tax year.

Under Ofgem’s latest price cap revision, annual energy bills for typical households are expected to fall to £2,074 from 1st July 2023 – the lowest in over a year.

The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) that the government introduced last October capped energy prices per unit to limit the average bill to £2,500 a year until 30th June 2023, helping domestic consumers to save compared to Ofgem’s £3,280 cap for the current quarter.

The EPG is due to increase to £3,000 from 1st July and will remain in place until March 2024, but Ofgem reducing their cap to £2,074 means most people are unlikely to pay that much.

This seems like good news for families, home-based employees, and small business owners working from a residence – but will energy bills really change that drastically?