UK money guides
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These guides explain how each figure is worked out, before or alongside a calculator result: the rules, the common mistakes and the decisions behind the number. Each one links to the matching calculator and to the official sources. They are guidance, not personal advice.
They are grouped by what is going on in your life. If you only need a number, go straight to the calculators.
Buying and running a home
How a repayment mortgage is worked out and what term, rate changes and overpaying do to it; how stamp duty is charged band by band in each UK nation; and how a Council Tax bill comes from a band set decades ago.
- How UK mortgage payments are calculatedHow the monthly figure is worked out, where your early payments go, and what term length, a fixed deal ending or overpaying does to the cost.
- How stamp duty works when you buy a home in the UKSDLT, LBTT and LTT explained: why tax is charged in slices, and what first-time buyers and additional properties usually change.
- How UK Council Tax bands and bills are calculatedWhy the bill is a fraction of your council’s Band D charge, not a tax on today’s sale price — with Band C from £2,100 Band D ≈ £1,867, and Scotland’s 2017 Band E–H multipliers.
Calculators: UK Mortgage Calculator · UK Stamp Duty Calculator · UK Council Tax Band Helper
Pay, tax and payslips
What each line on a payslip means and how it is calculated, from the Personal Allowance to student loan plans, and how salary sacrifice compares with relief at source for pension contributions.
- How UK take-home pay is calculated (2026/27)A plain-English walkthrough of Income Tax, National Insurance and why a £30,000 salary is not £30,000 in the bank.
- How UK National Insurance is calculated (2026/27)Employee, employer and self-employed NI as separate bills — why it is not Income Tax, and what a £30k or £60k salary actually costs.
- How UK student loan repayments work (2026/27)Why a student loan is not a personal-loan instalment: plan types, 2026/27 thresholds, two jobs, postgraduate stacking and worked salary examples.
- How UK pension salary sacrifice compares to relief at sourceWhy the extra take-home from salary sacrifice is usually National Insurance, not extra tax relief — with £45k, £60k and £100k worked examples.
Calculators: UK Income Tax / Take-home Pay Calculator · UK National Insurance Calculator · UK Student Loan Repayment Calculator · UK Salary Sacrifice / Pension Take-home Calculator
Leaving a job and working days
How statutory redundancy pay is built from age bands, years of service and a capped week’s pay, and how it differs from an enhanced package.
Calculators: UK Redundancy Pay Calculator · UK Working Days Calculator
Borrowing and debt
Why a fixed monthly payment clears a card faster than the minimum, and how personal loans, car finance and student loans really differ.
- How UK credit card interest and payoff time are calculatedWhy a £2,500 balance at 22% APR paying £100 a month takes about 34 months and £875 in interest — and why the statement minimum can stretch the same debt into years.
- How UK personal loans differ from car finance and student loansWhy a £10,000 personal loan at 8.9% over 4 years is £248.38 a month, when hire purchase uses the same maths, why PCP does not, and why a student loan is a different thing altogether.
Calculators: Loan Repayment Calculator · Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Saving and inflation
What inflation does to cash and investments over time, and how to tell a real return from the headline rate.
Calculators: Compound Interest / Savings Calculator · Inflation & Real Return Calculator
Selling assets and estates
How Capital Gains Tax is charged on the gain rather than the sale price, and how the nil-rate band, the residence band and the £2 million taper work for Inheritance Tax.
- How UK Capital Gains Tax is calculated (2026/27)Why you pay CGT on the gain, not the sale price: the £3,000 allowance, 18% or 24% from unused basic-rate band, and GOV.UK’s £12,600 → £1,728 example.
- How UK Inheritance Tax is calculated (2026/27)Why IHT is a slice of the estate, not a tax on heirs: the £325,000 band, the extra home allowance, transferred unused bands, and a worked £500k → £70,000 example.
Calculators: UK Capital Gains Tax Calculator · UK Inheritance Tax Calculator
Cars and travel
How the three VED systems work, including first-year rates, the expensive-car supplement and electric cars from April 2025.
Calculators: UK VED / Car Tax Calculator · UK Fuel Cost Calculator
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