{"id":106003,"date":"2025-03-14T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=106003"},"modified":"2025-03-14T00:45:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T00:45:56","slug":"martin-lewis-urgent-warning-10000-savings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/martin-lewis-urgent-warning-10000-savings\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin Lewis Issues Urgent Warning for Anyone With Over \u00a310,000 in Savings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Martin Lewis has warned savers that holding more than \u00a310,000 in a bank account could lead to unexpected tax charges. As reported by<a href=\"https:\/\/www.birminghammail.co.uk\/news\/cost-of-living\/martin-lewis-issues-warning-anyone-31171831\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <em>Birmingham Live<\/em><\/a>, the Money Saving Expert explained how HMRC\u2019s tax rules on savings interest could catch people off guard, particularly those earning higher interest on their accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The concern stems from the Personal Savings Allowance (PSA), which determines how much interest can be earned tax-free. Lewis clarified that savings themselves are not taxed, but the interest earned on them is treated as taxable income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How the Savings Tax Rules Work<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Personal Savings Allowance<\/strong> sets limits on how much interest can be earned without triggering a tax charge. Lewis explained that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Basic-rate (20%) taxpayers can earn \u00a31,000 in savings interest tax-free, which means they can hold up to \u00a320,000 in a savings account at 5% interest without paying tax.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Higher-rate (40%) taxpayers only get a \u00a3500 tax-free allowance, meaning savings beyond \u00a310,000 at 5% interest could incur a tax charge.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Additional-rate (45%) taxpayers\u2014those earning over \u00a3125,000 per year\u2014do not get a Personal Savings Allowance at all, meaning all interest is taxable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Lewis explained, <em>&#8220;At 5% interest, as a basic-rate taxpayer, you can put \u00a320,000 in a savings account and it would be tax-free because that would generate \u00a31,000 of interest.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, for <strong>higher earners<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/hmrc-warns-savers-with-11600-tax-charges\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"102868\">tax charges <\/a>can start applying at much lower savings amounts. <em>&#8220;As a higher 40% rate taxpayer, you&#8217;re allowed \u00a3500 of interest tax-free. So it would be \u00a310,000 in there that would save you, and you wouldn\u2019t pay tax if you have it in a top 5% savings account,&#8221;<\/em> he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Hidden Allowance Few People Know About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lewis also highlighted a little-known<a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/uk-government-considers-cuts-isa-tax-breaks\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"103999\"> tax break<\/a>, the Starting Savings Allowance, which benefits low earners. He explained that those with total earnings under \u00a312,570 could earn up to \u00a35,000 in savings interest tax-free in addition to their Personal Allowance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For every \u00a31 earned above \u00a312,570, however, the \u00a35,000 savings interest exemption reduces by the same amount. Using an example, Lewis said, <em>&#8220;If you earned \u00a313,570, you\u2019d only get \u00a34,000 for your starting savings allowance.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How to Avoid Unnecessary Tax on Your Savings<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To avoid unexpected tax charges, Lewis advises savers to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Check how much interest they are earning and ensure they stay within the tax-free thresholds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consider ISAs, which allow savings to grow tax-free without affecting the Personal Savings Allowance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Spread savings across multiple accounts to maximise tax efficiency.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>With interest rates at their highest in years, many savers could unknowingly face tax bills for exceeding their allowance. Lewis\u2019 advice is clear: check your savings and plan ahead to keep more of your money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Martin Lewis has issued a warning to savers with over \u00a310,000 in the bank, explaining how a little-known tax rule could mean they owe more to HMRC than they expect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-taxation","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106003"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106004,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106003\/revisions\/106004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}