
HMRC tax updates: Martin Lewis on the most confused rules
On X, he posted about the "common confusion...between "taxable" and "taxed." Eg all earnt income from everyone of any age (even a one year old baby appearing in a nappy ad) is taxable.
"Yet it's only taxed if earnings are over £12,570/yr (and only earnings above that are taxed) -which is the annual personal allowance (the amount most can earn tax free each year) Ps and yes that personal allowance has been frozen which is a stealth tax rise as with inflation and income growth more people earn above it."
Another common confusion is the difference between "taxable" and "taxed."
Eg all earnt income from everyone of any age (even a 1 year old baby appearing in a nappy ad) is taxable. Yet it's only taxed if earnings are over £12,570/yr (and only earnings above that are taxed) -which… — Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) June 10, 2025
According to HMRC, you do not pay tax on:
He also posted: "I keep reading on here that savings are taxed. Just to be technical, that's incorrect. Its savings interest that is taxable, not savings. Ie you're only taxed on what you earn from having savings. (Though if its within your personal allowance, starting savings allowance, personal savings allowance, ISA allowance or in Premium Bonds its tax-free)."
HMRC says: "Most people can earn some interest from their savings without paying tax."
Your allowances for earning interest before you have to pay tax on it include your: Personal Allowance
starting rate for savings
Personal Savings Allowance
You get these allowances each tax year (6 April to 5 April). How much you get depends on your other income.
I keep reading on here that savings are taxed. Just to be technical, that's incorrect.
Its savings interest that is taxable, not savings. Ie you're only taxed on what you earn from having savings.
(Though if its within your personal allowance, starting savings allowance,… — Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) June 10, 2025
You may also get up to £5,000 of interest and not have to pay tax on it. This is your starting rate for savings.
Recommended reading:
The more you earn from other income (for example your wages or pension), the less your starting rate for savings will be.
You're not eligible for the starting rate for savings if your other income is £17,570 or more.
Every £1 of other income above your Personal Allowance reduces your starting rate for savings by £1.

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Wales Online
11 hours ago
- Wales Online
He left the country after a £50m money-laundering case. Now he has new life in sun
He left the country after a £50m money-laundering case. Now he has new life in sun The money laundering sparked a stranger-than-fiction chain of events involving a lottery winner, student houses and a bomb plot Half Moon Bay, an Auckland suburb where businessman Gregory Candy-Wallace appears to be based A man who ran companies that a court found laundered vast sums of money in Wales and England appears to have started a new life thousands of miles away. New Zealand authorities are "assessing" whether Gregory Candy-Wallace should be disqualified from managing businesses in the country after we informed them he had been operating there. It comes after the 64-year-old Brit settled a legal claim in the UK last year over his having controlled a network of firms that defrauded the taxman, HMRC, of tens of millions of pounds. There was due to be a civil trial at the High Court in London but the National Crime Agency (NCA) reached a settlement with Candy-Wallace and his companies last June, recovering assets worth £5.8m — a fraction of the more than £50m diverted from the taxman. A judge later said the money recovered was "the proceeds of crime". Now WalesOnline can reveal Candy-Wallace — a water polo enthusiast from Sussex whose companies used addresses in Cardiff for the money-laundering scheme — has more recent ventures in Auckland, where he is a majority shareholder in two companies and owns 49% of a third. We obtained court documents from the UK court case listing Candy-Wallace's address as a detached five-bedroom house in a wealthy coastal suburb of Auckland, with an outdoor pool and picturesque views onto the yacht-dotted Half Moon Bay. The home is valued at around £900,000. The Auckland-based firms are FM Group Ltd, which bills itself as a chemical wholesaler; ACM Environmental Services Ltd, an "environmental consultancy service"; and the curiously named 846361 Ltd, which says it is in the business of waterproofing buildings. Article continues below Candy-Wallace was previously a director of another Auckland company, Amoeba Investments Ltd, which classed itself as being in the "rental of residential property" industry. The firm owned a four-bedroom semi-detached house in Yorkshire, England, which the NCA applied for permission to seize before reaching a settlement. Who is Gregory Candy-Wallace? Candy-Wallace does not appear to be active on social media and — barring coverage of his court case — there is little trace of him on the internet. What can be found is mostly tied to his fondness for water polo, from refereeing in the Sussex league in 2013 to winning a tournament in Guam the same year and playing for a club in Dubai in 2022. Members of Sussex's water polo community told us they were puzzled when Candy-Wallace suddenly "disappeared" from the local scene a few years ago without explanation. Records show Candy-Wallace has been linked to civil tax fraud cases in the UK for two decades. One of his companies, described as a former "CD pressing business", was found to be "connected with fraud" as far back as 2006 in the form of invalid invoices. Another civil case dated back to 2005 when firms owned by Candy-Wallace were found to be linked to the "fraudulent evasion" of VAT by what the judge referred to as "the Malaga cell" of an illicit contra-trading network. WalesOnline's interest in his activities was first sparked last year when we investigated a network of "dormant companies" in Wales and England. There was little online to indicate what these firms actually did, beyond brief descriptions on Companies House such as "combined office administrative service activities" and "payroll services". One director, Damien Paton, was said to be a French national born in 1994. But elsewhere on Companies House his year of birth was given as 1960. In both records he was registered to a French address that was not a real place. Another of the directors was Candy-Wallace. One of the addresses used by the network was in Cranbrook Street, in Cardiff's student heartland of Cathays (Image: Conor Gogarty ) When we scanned through the many companies, a cluster of 12 stuck out. All were based at the same terraced house in Cranbrook Street in Cathays, the student heartland of Cardiff. It turned out the home was being used as a fake address for money-laundering. Landlord Nasser Nazemi told us the home started to be bombarded with letters from Companies House in 2017 after businesses had been registered there despite having no connection to the property. "The cheek of it," said Mr Nazemi. "We had to involve a solicitor to protect ourselves and it ended up costing us about £600 in legal fees." The firms in the money-laundering network were controlled by Candy-Wallace, according to the NCA, which said the "organised crime group" diverted away more than £50m of 'pay as you earn' and national insurance payments by "offering outsourcing services to third-party companies but then failing to pay the appropriate sums to HMRC". The funds were initially moved through a complex network of UK bank accounts before mostly ending up in Hong Kong and Taiwan accounts. Why wasn't he prosecuted? After last year's money-laundering settlement, we raised questions over the NCA's decision not to bring a criminal case against Candy-Wallace, particularly given that only a small portion of the £50m was recovered — on top of his decades-long links to tax fraud. As the NCA's own barrister James Laddie KC put it, the money-laundering ring was a 'deliberate and organised' fraud that featured 'inducements to secure clients'. Mr Laddie also said the settlement was a 'formal acknowledgement' that the funds were the proceeds of crime. Mr Justice Julian Knowles also described the funds in this way and said the network was part of "unlawful" payroll and money-laundering schemes. People are regularly imprisoned for fraud involving comparatively tiny sums of money. When we asked the NCA why it would not be bringing criminal proceedings, its spokeswoman said: "Civil recovery investigations are an efficient way to reclaim funds that have been acquired through unlawful conduct, and are not dependent on a criminal conviction." Jonathan Nuttall (Image: Press Association ) There was a criminal prosecution of one person involved in the network, but not for money-laundering. In 2023 one of Candy-Wallace's associates, Jonathan Nuttall, was jailed for eight years and two months after being found guilty of orchestrating a bomb plot against NCA lawyers. Nuttall had conspired to plant two explosives in London's legal district after becoming upset at the prospect of losing his stately home in Hampshire as assets were being seized in the civil case. The 51-year-old's wife, Amanda Nuttall — who once won £2.4m from her first lottery ticket — agreed to pay £1.4m and give up the stately home as part of the recent settlement. New Zealand Companies Office is now "assessing" Candy-Wallace's involvement in the Auckland firms. Its investigations team manager Vanessa Cook told us it is looking into whether his past conduct should disqualify him from directing or managing companies in New Zealand. Candy-Wallace and the Auckland companies were approached for comment. The only response we received was from a construction business whose email address was listed as a point of contact for one of Candy-Wallace's companies. The building firm said: "I don't know Mr Candy-Wallace, haven't had any dealings with him, and haven't seen him before." In the UK, registering sham addresses on Companies House has been a longstanding avenue for fraud. There is no requirement for those setting up a company to prove its legitimacy — and for those who actually live at the address, the fraud can ruin their credit rating due to the activity linked to their home. Article continues below The mass-registering of "burner companies" allows gangs to open UK bank accounts for money-laundering. However, later this year ID verification is finally due to become a requirement to start a company — after more than a decade of the system being abused — though experts have warned the scale of change needed will take time. If you know of a story we should be investigating, email us at


Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Good Morning Britain's Kate Garraway reveals she had bailiffs turn up at her door while her late husband Derek Draper was in a coma in hospital
Kate Garraway has revealed that she once had bailiffs turn up at her door while her late husband Derek Draper was in a coma. During Friday's instalment of Good Morning Britain, the presenter, 58, opened up on the tough situation she faced while her husband was stricken in hospital with a COVID-19-related illness. Speaking to money-saving expert Martin Lewis, who is campaigning to change the way councils call in debts of unpaid council tax, she revealed: 'Martin this is extraordinary. I've experienced this you know, when Derek was in his coma. She continued: 'In the latter half of 2020, somebody came to the door, a bailiff, it was all in Derek's name and they said: "You have to pay your years council tax plus the fines because we've been chasing you with letters." Kate explained the reason for the bill going unpaid, was because her husband was responsible for paying the council tax. She said she had 'no idea' it was going unpaid - otherwise, she would have paid it. She continued: 'It was my fault, I hadn't been opening the letters in his name because my head was in another place. 'And I've experienced the speed, as what happened was six weeks between him you know finding them, because he was in a coma, he hadn't paid our council tax, to having bailiffs at the door. 'And I, of course, am in a much more fortunate position than the sort of people you're talking about.' Following the admission, Kate was seen making her way to another job - hosting her Smooth Radio show in London. It comes after MailOnline revealed earlier this week that Kate had suffered another financial blow amid her £800,000 debt battle. The presenter had been frozen out of her bank accounts after changing her phone handset and reached out to Barclays Bank on social media in a desperate plea for help on Tuesday. Kate said that she had been unable to access either her current or savings account since Friday and hadn't been able to speak to anyone in customer service. Taking to X, she wrote: '@Barclays please please get in touch with me - I have not been able to access any of my Barclays accounts current or savings since Friday due to changing my phone handset and can't get through to anyone on customer service - please dm me.' Kate's message didn't go unanswered this time and a customer service rep responded to her through the Barclays X account. They wrote: 'Could you please pop into our DM's with your full name, postcode, contact number, and we can take it from there together. 'I've popped a link on this message that will take you through to us in DM. If you do have any other questions then please do let me know as we are here 24/7 for you. Thank you!' It's the latest financial blow for Kate who has been dealing with debt following her husband Derek's death. The presenter has openly discussed how she has been left with debts between £500,000 and £800,000 after caring for her late husband. Political lobbyist Derek died at the age of 56 in January 2024 following a four-year battle with long Covid with Kate paying £16,000 a month for his care. Now, a new liquidator's report has revealed the large tax costs that are yet to be paid by Derek's now-defunct psychotherapeutic company Astra Aspera. The company, which was jointly controlled by Kate, went bust owing hundreds of thousands of pounds to creditors, including a large bill to HMRC. Filings on Companies House have revealed how Kate has been trying to pay off the debt, with HMRC now submitting a lower revised total in a small boost. HMRC's latest preferential claim stands at £288,054, which is around a third of its previous 2023 submission of £716,822, according to the documents. It is not known why HMRC dropped the payment, and the filing has claimed there are also 'insufficient funds to pay a dividend to secondary preferential creditors'. According to The Sun, Kate has so far paid back £21,000. Addressing the filing, Kate's spokesperson told MailOnline the 'shocked' TV star 'doesn't recognise these figures' and is in contact with HMRC to make sure she 'honours what is required'. Their statement read: 'Kate has met all that the liquidators of Derek's company have asked for and more over the past four years. 'She doesn't recognise these figures and is shocked that it's being presented in this way by them. 'Caring for Derek and supporting her family when Derek could no longer run his own businesses has taken a huge financial toll on her but she's determined to put things right. 'She is in constant contact with HMRC to make sure she honours what's required from Derek's now-defunct company.' Kate said that she had been unable to access either her current or savings account since Friday and hadn't been able to speak to anyone in customer service Kate's message didn't go unanswered this time and a customer service rep responded to her through the Barclays X account Derek battled long Covid for four years before his death and Kate has openly discussed the devastating financial toll of funding his care during that period. When Derek wasn't in hospital, he had to be looked after 24/7 at home by his wife and a team of carers. Derek battled long Covid for four years before his death and Kate has openly discussed the devastating financial toll of funding his care during that period. When Derek wasn't in hospital, he had to be looked after 24/7 at home by his wife and a team of carers. In January, Kate explained how she has been left with 'excessive un-payable debt' as she spoke about dealing with the funding of his care. She shared: 'The family and I have been talking about the challenges we faced this time last year, one of the overriding ones, he went back into intensive care before he passed away was dealing with the funding of care. 'At the time of his death, there were two appeals that hadn't been heard for funding. It kept being pushed back and pushed back. 'In the meantime, I'm lucky I have an incredible job which is well paid. I was having to fund the situation. 'Now I've got excessive un-payable debt because of it. If I'm in that position what else are people going to be?' In March 2024, the presenter revealed that she had been spending £16,000 a month on care for her late husband. She told Good Morning Britain: 'I am ashamed of the fact I'm in debt. I have an incredible job that I love, that's very well paid. 'I'm not a carer travelling miles, paying their own transport to go and help somebody for minimum wage.


The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Martin Lewis shares important council tax payment update on live TV
Martin Lewis announced that the government is launching a consultation into council tax payments, which will affect over three million people. The Money Saving Expert founder criticised the current council tax debt collection process as "so rapid and aggressive it would make banks blush". Mr Lewis said that forcing individuals to pay for a year when they cannot afford a month is "destroying lives". The consultation will consider slowing down the debt collection process to allow people more time to pay before further action is taken. Watch the video in full above.