The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

1spiral

Zopa_Trooper said:

I've done exactly that today after opening yesterday. My interest rate yesterday was "null", today 5.1%. I never saw 1.64% at all.

Just checked mine again and it is now the correct rate. I must have been too quick out of the blocks this morning. They must've updated it sometime late morning.

Bazzalona13295

AmityNeon said:

Bazzalona13295 said:

Just had an e-mail off Santander, I knew my 7% EA was finishing in 2 months time anyway, but they've given me the new rates.

Strangely (I think) it says the current rate is 6.78%
Obviously the monthly interest rate.
For some reason I thought the difference was less.

New rate will be 4.41% apparently. 
Which is when I empty the thing.

4.41% gross is just the rate without the bonus. Others have reported being able to close their current/expiring Edge Savers and apply for another, effectively renewing the bonus for another 12 months.

Thankyou for this, I'd not have known.
Hopefully I can benefit from this too in January.

sheslookinhot

soulsaver said:

1spiral said:

Anyone else deposited funds with Metro Bank(to meet £500 minimum balance to meet limited edition rate eligibility criteria on easy access account)  over the weekend only to find that their interest rate is still stuck at 1.64% and not raised to 5.23%?

T&Cs clearly state that closing balance on Sunday will form eligibility of rate from Monday.

It's rate is 5.22% but 5.23% may still be available at Gatehouse.
'Monday' has quite a while left.

How many needless posts are made from folks who can’t wait a few hours to see the interest rates being applied to their accounts ?

OllyStreet

janusdesign said:

OllyStreet said:

I think the "easy access" section needs an overhaul, perhaps an additional section is required because currently not a single one of the options is easily accessible and the Natwest and Close Brothers accounts both pay crap interest up to 5K and 10k respectively. We need a section for accounts that have zero stipulations, like my Chip account that pays 4.84%

it might be easier for you to just go to the Moneyfacts EA page (setting the minimum amount to £1 and sorting by rate) and that would give you a dozen options paying more than Chip - granted, some of them will have "stipulations" (as you call it), but it's just a case of working through each of them to see which ones meet your needs.

I appreciate the tip but this is pretty much the same as using the MSE page, except having to click each provider to see the "stipulations" (as I call them). My needs are a savings account that is easily accessible, so no minimum withdrawals, no strange 'bonuses', no interest only above a certain amount. Just a list of accounts that can be easily compared against each other. I'm sure there are plenty of MSE users who would appreciate a simplified list.

Zopa_Trooper

I suppose they could provide a filter button on here, so you could say, monthly interest, instant access, no minimum payment and "GO". 

patpalloon

ColdIron said:

patpalloon said:

BooJewels said:

@patpalloon You can earn up to £18,570 in total before you would pay any tax, that could be made up of earnings, pensions and your interest.  So you could earn up to a further £4,570 (approx. £380 per month) before you paid any tax on your interest if it were nudged above the total of the allowances, see below. 

If you were to put your annual allowance of £20k into an ISA, the interest on that would be tax free, so you could add something in the region of £900 to your potential earnings before tax comes in to play.

Your allowances are made up of your (linked to Gov web page):

Personal Allowance = £12,570 - this could be earnings, pensions (inc State Pension) or in the absence of any, interest.

Your starting rate for interest, taxed at 0% = £5,000 - this is reduced pound for pound with any earnings above your Personal Allowance above.  (so if you earned £14,570 in a job, your starting rate would only be £3,000)

Your Personal Savings Allowance = £1,000 - the amount of interest taxed at 0%.

So, £12,570 + £5,000 + £1,000 = £18,570

Thanks, I understand all this - so only when my total income (interest + earnings goes over 18,570) I would start to pay tax which would then be at 20% of all income over the 18,570?

Not quite. Your Personal Allowance covers earnings and interest. The Starting Rate for Savings and Personal Savings Allowance only cover interest

It's important that you stack income and allowances in the right order. For a simple case of earnings and interest:

Income: Earnings then interest

Allowances: PA then (immediately) SRS and finally PSA (floating at the top if you like)

So if your earnings were in excess of £12,570 the portion above that would be taxed at 20% AND would reduce your SRS (but not the PSA)

So, say for argument sake I was earning 14,000 in interest pa and 10,570 earnings = total 24,570 - so  6,000 is taxable at 20% so £1,200 tax.

In this case yes because your earnings are less than your PA so you have the full £18,570 available to you

If I earnt 20,570 pa +my interest = 34,570 total income - 18570 = 16000 taxable at 20% so £3,200 tax.

In this case no. Only £12,570 earnings would be covered (by the PA) and the remaining £8,000 taxed so £1,600

Your SRS has been reduced to £0 by your excess earnings so unavailable to you

You only have your PSA left so £13,000 is taxable, another £2,600 tax

Result: £4,200 tax

You can't just knock £18,570 off the total, you have to apply the various allowances to the income that they apply to in the right order

This is great thanks! So in summary - I can earn up to the PA of £12,570 pa in addition  to the interest per year (currently c. 14k but expect this to drop!) and I wouldn't pay any tax at all. Anything I earn above the PA will reduce my SRS pro rata up to another 5k then that is gone, just leaving the PSA of £1,000 untaxed interest - so I will pay tax at 20% on all my interest in excess of that. 

Also - if I believe if I earn between roughly £6,400-£12,570 I won't pay any NI either BUT I will still qualify for NI benefits and the State Pension. Which would be handy as am age 55 and am about 6 years short of qualifying NI contributions.

So, if I could get income paying close to the PA of £12,570 this would be the sweet spot. Giving me a combined tax free income of c £26,570. I could live on that. Of course interest rates are predicted to fall in the coming months.

Also, if I started working this year - with only 4 months left, I could work  more hours as unlikely to use up my PA in that time.

patpalloon

patpalloon said:

ColdIron said:

patpalloon said:

BooJewels said:

@patpalloon You can earn up to £18,570 in total before you would pay any tax, that could be made up of earnings, pensions and your interest.  So you could earn up to a further £4,570 (approx. £380 per month) before you paid any tax on your interest if it were nudged above the total of the allowances, see below. 

If you were to put your annual allowance of £20k into an ISA, the interest on that would be tax free, so you could add something in the region of £900 to your potential earnings before tax comes in to play.

Your allowances are made up of your (linked to Gov web page):

Personal Allowance = £12,570 - this could be earnings, pensions (inc State Pension) or in the absence of any, interest.

Your starting rate for interest, taxed at 0% = £5,000 - this is reduced pound for pound with any earnings above your Personal Allowance above.  (so if you earned £14,570 in a job, your starting rate would only be £3,000)

Your Personal Savings Allowance = £1,000 - the amount of interest taxed at 0%.

So, £12,570 + £5,000 + £1,000 = £18,570

Thanks, I understand all this - so only when my total income (interest + earnings goes over 18,570) I would start to pay tax which would then be at 20% of all income over the 18,570?

Not quite. Your Personal Allowance covers earnings and interest. The Starting Rate for Savings and Personal Savings Allowance only cover interest

It's important that you stack income and allowances in the right order. For a simple case of earnings and interest:

Income: Earnings then interest

Allowances: PA then (immediately) SRS and finally PSA (floating at the top if you like)

So if your earnings were in excess of £12,570 the portion above that would be taxed at 20% AND would reduce your SRS (but not the PSA)

So, say for argument sake I was earning 14,000 in interest pa and 10,570 earnings = total 24,570 - so  6,000 is taxable at 20% so £1,200 tax.

In this case yes because your earnings are less than your PA so you have the full £18,570 available to you

If I earnt 20,570 pa +my interest = 34,570 total income - 18570 = 16000 taxable at 20% so £3,200 tax.

In this case no. Only £12,570 earnings would be covered (by the PA) and the remaining £8,000 taxed so £1,600

Your SRS has been reduced to £0 by your excess earnings so unavailable to you

You only have your PSA left so £13,000 is taxable, another £2,600 tax

Result: £4,200 tax

You can't just knock £18,570 off the total, you have to apply the various allowances to the income that they apply to in the right order

This is great thanks! So in summary - I can earn up to the PA of £12,570 pa in addition  to the interest per year (currently c. 14k but expect this to drop!) and I wouldn't pay any tax at all. Anything I earn above the PA will reduce my SRS pro rata up to another 5k then that is gone, just leaving the PSA of £1,000 untaxed interest - so I will pay tax at 20% on all my interest in excess of that. 

Also - if I believe if I earn between roughly £6,400-£12,570 I won't pay any NI either BUT I will still qualify for NI benefits and the State Pension. Which would be handy as am age 55 and am about 6 years short of qualifying NI contributions.

So, if I could get income paying close to the PA of £12,570 this would be the sweet spot. Giving me a combined tax free income of c £26,570. I could live on that. Of course interest rates are predicted to fall in the coming months.

Also, if I started working this year - with only 4 months left, I could work  more hours as unlikely to use up my PA in that time.

Actually I think this is wrong - this would mean using my PA twice - once for my earnings and once for my interest income.
"
You can use your Personal Allowance to earn interest tax-free if you have NOT used it up on your wages, pension or other income."

patpalloon

patpalloon said:

patpalloon said:

ColdIron said:

patpalloon said:

BooJewels said:

@patpalloon You can earn up to £18,570 in total before you would pay any tax, that could be made up of earnings, pensions and your interest.  So you could earn up to a further £4,570 (approx. £380 per month) before you paid any tax on your interest if it were nudged above the total of the allowances, see below. 

If you were to put your annual allowance of £20k into an ISA, the interest on that would be tax free, so you could add something in the region of £900 to your potential earnings before tax comes in to play.

Your allowances are made up of your (linked to Gov web page):

Personal Allowance = £12,570 - this could be earnings, pensions (inc State Pension) or in the absence of any, interest.

Your starting rate for interest, taxed at 0% = £5,000 - this is reduced pound for pound with any earnings above your Personal Allowance above.  (so if you earned £14,570 in a job, your starting rate would only be £3,000)

Your Personal Savings Allowance = £1,000 - the amount of interest taxed at 0%.

So, £12,570 + £5,000 + £1,000 = £18,570

Thanks, I understand all this - so only when my total income (interest + earnings goes over 18,570) I would start to pay tax which would then be at 20% of all income over the 18,570?

Not quite. Your Personal Allowance covers earnings and interest. The Starting Rate for Savings and Personal Savings Allowance only cover interest

It's important that you stack income and allowances in the right order. For a simple case of earnings and interest:

Income: Earnings then interest

Allowances: PA then (immediately) SRS and finally PSA (floating at the top if you like)

So if your earnings were in excess of £12,570 the portion above that would be taxed at 20% AND would reduce your SRS (but not the PSA)

So, say for argument sake I was earning 14,000 in interest pa and 10,570 earnings = total 24,570 - so  6,000 is taxable at 20% so £1,200 tax.

In this case yes because your earnings are less than your PA so you have the full £18,570 available to you

If I earnt 20,570 pa +my interest = 34,570 total income - 18570 = 16000 taxable at 20% so £3,200 tax.

In this case no. Only £12,570 earnings would be covered (by the PA) and the remaining £8,000 taxed so £1,600

Your SRS has been reduced to £0 by your excess earnings so unavailable to you

You only have your PSA left so £13,000 is taxable, another £2,600 tax

Result: £4,200 tax

You can't just knock £18,570 off the total, you have to apply the various allowances to the income that they apply to in the right order

This is great thanks! So in summary - I can earn up to the PA of £12,570 pa in addition  to the interest per year (currently c. 14k but expect this to drop!) and I wouldn't pay any tax at all. Anything I earn above the PA will reduce my SRS pro rata up to another 5k then that is gone, just leaving the PSA of £1,000 untaxed interest - so I will pay tax at 20% on all my interest in excess of that. 

Also - if I believe if I earn between roughly £6,400-£12,570 I won't pay any NI either BUT I will still qualify for NI benefits and the State Pension. Which would be handy as am age 55 and am about 6 years short of qualifying NI contributions.

So, if I could get income paying close to the PA of £12,570 this would be the sweet spot. Giving me a combined tax free income of c £26,570. I could live on that. Of course interest rates are predicted to fall in the coming months.

Also, if I started working this year - with only 4 months left, I could work  more hours as unlikely to use up my PA in that time.

Actually I think this is wrong - this would mean using my PA twice - once for my earnings and once for my interest income.
"
You can use your Personal Allowance to earn interest tax-free if you have NOT used it up on your wages, pension or other income."

So you were right after all.

ColdIron

That's right, you can't double dip. £18,570 with the right combination of earnings and interest is the figure you are looking for

janusdesign

OllyStreet said:

I appreciate the tip but this is pretty much the same as using the MSE page, except having to click each provider to see the "stipulations" (as I call them). 

I would suspect the moneyfacts page to be updated quicker and more often than the MSE page - though tbf I hardly ever bother checking the MSE tables because a) the products will be shown in the moneyfacts tables (with more info) and/or b) they would have been mentioned in one of the threads here that i'm subscribed to.

it would only take a few minutes to do your checks - it's not like the list is changing every 5 minutes (or days now!).

OllyStreet said:

My needs are a savings account that is easily accessible, so no minimum withdrawals, no strange 'bonuses', no interest only above a certain amount. Just a list of accounts that can be easily compared against each other.

Hampshire Trust @ 5.15%, Cahoot @ 5.12 would meet those stipulations I suspect - but unless MSE were to do something like Zopa_Trooper suggests (which I doubt they will), then your "stipulations" might not be someone elses and so such a list might have limited appeal... hence why it's easier (though longer) to do the searching yourself... also, is one of the stipulations that you might need the money *now* or can you wait until tomorrow? not even MF shows that, so it's often a case of experience of knowing and/or checking with each how quick withdrawals are, e.g Cahoot would be immediate; Coventry BS would be tomorrow.

that said, there is someone in this thread who periodically posts a screenshot of their excel table showing "True EA accounts" and soulsaver's list (sorry I can't remember who) - that might be the closest thing to what you want i've seen here, though no guarantees that list meets your stipulations.

for me, bonuses are irrelevant - either the account will be upgraded before the bonus ends (hello Cynergy!), or you worry about it after the end of the bonus - either way, no big deal.

OllyStreet said:

I'm sure there are plenty of MSE users who would appreciate a simplified list.

there's nothing to stop you from making one and starting a thread of your own for it!