| | | For more tips, alerts & inevitable bad puns follow Martin: |  |  |  | | The new tax-year started last Friday, wiping the cash ISA slate clean. Everyone can now put new money in — even if you opened one last week. Better still, a price war means rates are their highest for years. Here's the 10 top need-to-knows...
| 1. | A cash ISA's just a tax-free savings account. It sounds more complex than it is. It's just a risk free savings allowance every UK taxpayer aged 16+ has, where your interest isn't taxed. You can access the cash whenever you want. |  | | | | 2. | You can now save a new, bigger £5,640 in. This year's new cash ISA limit is £5,640 (was £5,340). If you want to invest in shares too, the overall ISA allowance is £11,280 (was £10,680). | | | | 3. | Best buys: Earn 3.5% AER easy-access tax-free. If you may need access to your cash, the highest paying accounts are...
Top rate: Cheshire BS* (part of Nationwide) is 3.5% AER (min £1,000).
Top accepting transfers: Santander* is 3.3% AER (min £2,500).
For under £1,000: Principality* is 3.1% AER (min £1). Accepts transfers.
For Nationwide FlexAccount holders only: Its branch-based Flexclusive ISA is a huge 4.25% AER. No transfers accepted. As these include intro bonus rate hikes for at least a year, these rates will plummet later, so diarise to ditch and transfer then. Full info in Top Cash ISAs. | | | | | | 4. | Best buys: Lock cash away for up to 4.5% AER fixed. With fixed ISAs, you lock cash away in return for set rates (you can access your cash, but pay heavy interest penalties to do so). Here are the top payers (all accept transfers unless stated). 1 year: Santander* 3.5% AER (min £2,500).
18 mths: Cheshire BS* 4% AER (min £1,000). No transfers.
2 years: BM Savings* 4.05% AER (min £500), Santander* 4% (min £1) but lower withdrawal penalties, and pays 4.1% if Rory McIlroy wins a major.
3-5 years: Halifax* pays 4.25% - 4.5% AER (min £500). | | | | 5. | Once in, it's tax-free, year after year. The gain isn't just for this year. Once in an ISA, your savings remain free of income tax, year after year. | | | | 6. | You needn't stick to one provider. Don't think the "you can only have one new cash ISA per year" rule means "you can only have one cash ISA". Even if you've existing ISAs, you can open a new one now with a new provider. | | | | 7. | Even at 3.5% tax-free, it can beat 5% normal savings. With normal savings a basic taxpayer loses 20% interest in tax, higher 40%, top 50%. So to earn the same as a 3.5% ISA, a basic taxpayer needs normal savings at 4.4%, higher rate 5.8% and top rate 7% — virtually impossible. | | | | | | 8. | It's what you 'put in' that counts. No, I'm not growing long hair (chance'd be a fine thing) and becoming a hippy. You're allowed to PUT IN £5,640 by 5 April 2013. You can withdraw it anytime, but then it can't be returned. An example to help... put £5,000 in, and you've £640 more allowed. If you then withdraw £1,000, that's irrelevant, you can still only put £640 more in. | | | | | | 9. | Earn £100s/year more on old ISAs too. Many banks entice you with flashy rates then slash 'em later. Yet you've a RIGHT to transfer old ISAs and can boost the return hugely, not every ISA provider lets you transfer in.
To earn up to 4.5% most of the fixed deals in point 4 above accept transfers. For easy access if you've £30,000+ including this year's new money NatWest* pays 3.5% AER for a year. If not, Santander's* 3.3% AER deal (min £2.5k). Full warnings & best buys in Top Cash ISA Transfers. | | | | 10. | Don't delay, open it now. You can always add to it later. If you're thinking, "I've still a year to get one," well, first of all rates are usually much higher at this point in the year. Plus, the earlier you start, the longer you're earning interest that's tax-free. |
All accounts listed have the full UK £85,000 per person safe savings
We focus on cash-ISA as investing ain't our bag, but you can use your ISA for that too, though the tax-advantage is more limited. See Full ISA guide for more. | | | If this site has ever helped you - then please forward this email to friends and suggest they get it themselves via moneysavingexpert.com/tips
| |  Check your new tax code. Some can reclaim £1,000s
Don't wrongly overpay tax — free tax code calculator helps you check yours
Don't trust that your new tax year tax code is right — in recent years over 10 million have been wrong. This can mean overpaying for years, or being asked to cough up tax long after you've spent the cash. Our unique Tax Code Calculator analyses whether your tax code is likely to be correct, and what to do if it's wrong.
 What is a tax code? It indicates to your employer or pension provider what your personal allowance is (the amount you can earn tax-free) so it can work out how much tax to take from you. Many employees have the standard 810L code which indicates you can earn £8105 tax-free (ie, the code with a 5 added to the end). - Find your code. Those with simple affairs aren't sent it, but it will appear on payslips, P45 & P60s. Many with more than one job, or a company car will have received their code in the post by now. See Find My Code for help.
- Check old codes — some have reclaimed £5,000. The Tax Code Calculator also lists past years' codes and shows how to reclaim if you've overpaid. You may be due big money like Chris Kendall: "I got the MSE email, checked my tax code, rang HMRC and it told me I'd get over £5,000 back. Incredible!"
- How much will you take home this year? To answer that, use our Income Tax Calculator to see what your estimated take-home pay will be after the tax threshold changes, and use our free 5-min Benefits Check-Up
| | How to buy your freehold. New guide & calcs
Must-read for leaseholders. Buy freehold, extend your lease or exercise your right to manage
It sounds ludicrous, but many pay £100,000s to 'lease' a flat, while someone else owns the land and charges 'em fees. Yet you have rights, so we've added a new Buy Your Freehold guide to our Extend Your Lease guide. Here's a taster...
 Why buy the freehold? Some freeholders charge £10,000s in management fees for things you could do for a fraction of that. In England & Wales, owners are often entitled to buy freeholds at a fair price, reducing outgoings and potentially adding to the sale value. See Buy Your Freehold (for financing, see the Remortgage Guide).
- New Right to Manage Tool. If you've a beef with the building's management but maybe don't have cash to buy the freehold, many flat-owners have the right to take over their buildings' management. Use our new Right to Manage Tool to see if you're likely to be eligible.
- Extend your lease (80 yrs or under is a problem). Extending short leases gets costly but without doing it homes become harder to sell. Buying freehold, if you can, costs about the same as extending your lease by 90 years and you can usually then extend the lease for free, just paying legal fees. If you don't qualify (at least 50% of a building's flats must take part), then see the Lease Extension Calculator
| | Free £100 best bank account — now more people can get it
New tax year means what you need to earn to qualify for top accounts has dropped
All top current accounts set a minimum monthly 'pay-in' amount to get people to treat them as their main account and pay their salaries in (you can still withdraw that cash when you like). The new tax year has increased tax allowances so many people now take home more on the same salary, meaning more people qualify for the 'pay-ins'. Here's a rundown.
- Free £100, 8% savings & top customer service.
 Min income £22,800+ New First Direct* customers of its fee-free 1st account get £100 free, a 0% overdraft of £250 and are also eligible for its 8% Regular Saver account. First Direct's trounced every service poll we've done. To qualify, the 'pay-in' is £1,500/mth, now equiv to £22,800 salary. - Get up to 3% interest and 3% cashback on bills. Min income £6,000+. Santander's 123* charges £2/mth but gives up to 3% cashback on bills like landlines and council tax, plus 3% interest if you've £3K-£20K - a huge boon for some. Though the bank's service record is poor — see Is Santander 123 any good?. To qualify, the 'pay-in's' £500/mth, equiv to £6,000 income.
- Get £5/mth or free travel insurance. Earn £14k+ and Halifax Reward* pays £5/mth if you pay-in £1,000/mth (equiv to £14,000 income) but avoid it if you ever go overdrawn due to hefty charges. Nationwide's* FlexAccount gives free European travel insurance and eligibility for hot ISA and credit card deals. Its min pay-in is £750/mth (equiv to £9,600 salary). Full pros & cons and more options in our Best Bank Accounts guide.
| £5 for 3 months' hayfever remedies
Discounts not to be sneezed at. The anti-histamine price war's started Many people pay eye-watering amounts for allergy medicine when huge savings can be had. Our Cheap Hayfever Tablets guide takes you through how to do it. Here's a taster... - Don't fall for brand hypnosis, it's the 'active ingredient' that counts. Once out of patent, famous drug brands lose their monopoly, so others can make 'em cheaper. Just ensure the 'active' ingredient's the same (eg, Piriton's is chlorphenamine). Though if you have other allergies, eg, food, don't assume the other ingredients will be identical - check.
| Cheapest hayfever remedies | | Brand | Typical cost | Active ingredient | Cheapest generic online (via Chemist 4u) | Cheapest generic high st | | Clarityn | 7 for £3 | Loratadine | 69p per 30 (+£2.95 del) | Sainsbury's 14 for £1 (x3 £2.50) | | Zirtek | 7 for £3 | Cetirizine | 69p per 30 (+£2.95 del) | Tesco 14 for 80p | | Piriton | 60 for £6 | Chlorphenamine | 69p per 28 (+ £2.95 del) | Boots 60 for £5.49 but on 2for1 | | Are online sellers safe? All sellers mentioned are General Pharmaceutical Council-registered. It checks pharmacies are safe. Full safety info and more in the Cheap Hayfever Remedies guide. | - Try for a prescription. In Scotland, Wales and NI where prescriptions don't cost, or for those who don't pay in England, obviously getting a prescription wins. Even if you pay in England, asking if your doctor can give you a 3-month prescription can be cheaper where possible.
| Get 18mths 0% on spending or NEW poor credit 0% till August
Top interest-free credit cards | New card can help beat costly bank charges
If you need to borrow, done right, 0%'s cheapest. Even then, borrow as little as possible, ensure it's planned, and you've budgeted to make affordable repayments. Full help in our updated 0% Credit Cards guide (plus see APR examples). - 15mths 0% plus rewards.
 If you've a decent credit score, both Tesco* and Marks & Spencer* give accepted new cardholders 15 mths 0%, plus loyalty points. Useful for cost spreading (eg, car insurance), yet ensure you can repay in full before the 0% ends or the rates jump to 16.9% or 15.9% representative APRs. - Nationwide customers only 18mth 0%. FlexAccount customers can apply for its Select* card's 18 mths 0% plus 0.5% cashback, and cheap spending overseas. Clear it before the 0% ends, or it jumps to 12.9% rep APR.
- New. Poor credit scorers 0% until August. Don't use this to borrow more. Instead, used cleverly & carefully, it can be a short-term tool for respite from nasty bank charges / payday loans. The new Capital One Classic* card is 0% until the Aug statement, and accepts some with old defaults or CCJs. Do normal spending on it, so unspent cash either lessens your overdraft or is put towards the worse debts. Ensure you budget to clear it by August, or it's a huge 34.9% representative APR after. Step-by-step help in 'Bad Credit' Credit Cards.
| | | | | | | | | | | | Thursday 12 April
Lorraine, ITV1, between 8.30 & 9.30am.
Real Deals.
Shelagh Fogarty, Radio 5, 12-1pm.
Consumer Panel.
Newspapers review, Sky News, 9.30-10pm.
Tuesday 17 April Daybreak, ITV1, between 7& 8.30am.
Subject tbc. | | All Martin's Appearances | | | | | | UK's Best Currency Rates | | £100 will buy you: | | Best | Worst |  | € | 120.60 | 105.86 |  | $ | 157.91 | 138.50 |  | TL | 277.75 | 243.37 | | Rates correct at 4.30pm Tues | Find all top currency rates
Compare travel cash | | | | | | Paid monthly: 1st week of the month | Vote | Paid monthly: 2nd week of the month | Vote | Paid monthly: 3rd week of month | Vote | Paid monthly: 4th or 5th week of month | Vote | I'm paid weekly | Vote | I'm paid fortnightly | Vote | I'm paid every four weeks | Vote | I work casually and paid as & when | Vote | No payday (e.g. self-employed / unemployed / retired / homemaker) | Vote | Other payment system | Vote | | | | | Which UK companies can you haggle best with?
Over 3,000 voted. 61% of you made big savings by haggling with the AA, whereas 178 of you tried and failed with BT. Almost 500 MoneySavers succeeded in haggling down their Sky packages, but it was a pretty poor outcome for those that tried their luck with Netflix. See Full Results | | | | | | | Q: My ISA gives a 'gross' rate. Shouldn't it be 'net' as there is no tax? What is the APR rate on my 3.1% gross rate? Sean, by email. MSE Guy's A. OK, let's get a bit nerdy here. The ISA rate is given gross (before tax) because there's no tax. To give a net rate would make people think tax had been deducted. As for the APR, that's actually a rate for debts. With savings, it's the AER - Annual Equivalent Rate - that's used, and this can get complex. The AER is the true return if you leave your money in the account for a year, as it includes interest paid on top of interest.
So if an account paid 3% for 6 months then 0.1% after, the gross rate would be 3% for six months. But the AER must be over a year, so it'd be around 1.54% AER. Please suggest a Question of the Week (we can't reply to individual emails). | | | | What's your traveller IQ? (Martin's is 113) That's it for this week, but before we go, test your world geography knowledge with this quick-fire quiz. Find each country as fast as you can, but watch out for the timer. What's your traveller IQ? We hope you save some money, Martin & the MSE team | | |
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