Budget A five-point plan to help you manage your cash

From Isas to salary sacrifice and inheritance to property, here's how to navigate this week's changes. By Shane Hickey and Rupert Jones

- Shane Hickey and Rupert Jones

After much anticipation, the chancellor delivered her second budget this week, and there were a series of changes that could affect how you spend and save your money.

Here are some suggestions to consider that might lessen the impact on your finances.

1. Use your Isa allowance

The £20,000 annual limit on payments into the tax-efficient accounts remains but, from 6 April 2027, rules on where the money can be put will change for anyone aged under 65.

Instead of being able to put all the money into a cash Isa, that element will be capped at £12,000. Anything you pay in above that will have to go into a stocks and shares Isa. If you are over 65, all £20,000 can still be put into a cash Isa.

In the 16 months before these changes come in, you can take advantage of the existing allowances. There is no limit on what you can hold overall, and once money is in the Isa wrapper, you will be able to move it around each year and earn interest without tax.

There are some good rates at the moment if you have not used up this year’s allowance. “If it makes sense to open a cash Isa, and you have the money and allowance available, it’s worth acting sooner, rather than later, while there are still strong rates around,” says Sarah Coles of the investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown.

This week, the online operator Trading 212 was offering 4.56% on an easy-access cash Isa, with Leeds building society and the Post Office offering 4.05%.

Interest earned outside an Isa is subject to tax once you go over your personal savings allowance. It is £1,000 for basic-rate taxpayers, £500 for higher-rate payers and up to £5,000 if you earn less than £17,570 a year. That means that if you're earning 4% on your savings, you can hold up to £25,000 before facing tax as a basic-rate payer, or £12,500 as a higher-rate payer.

2. Switch shares to an Isa