Printed on paper produced using wood fibre and manufactured at a mill that has been awarded the ISO14001 and EMAS certificates for environmental management. Jacqueline Lee-Lis LLB (Hons), APFS 2 Brassey Hill Limpsfield Oxted Surrey RH8 0ES e: jackie@leelis.co.uk office@leelis.co.uk w: www.leelis.co.uk Jacqueline Lee-Lis is an adviser with Julian Harris Financial Consultants, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FCA No. 153566. Registered office: Julian Harris House, Musgrove, Ashford, Kent, TN23 7UN CTFs were opened for all children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. Parents received a £250 voucher and could open a cash or investment CTF, with low-income families receiving £500. Accounts were opened automatically for children if parents failed to take action, and the government made a further payment on the child’s 7th birthday. Parents, grandparents and family friends can contribute to these accounts, currently up to £9,000 a year, meaning many CTFs have sizeable balances on maturity. A CTF reverts to the child at 16, and they can access this money at 18 or transfer it to an adult ISA. UNCLAIMED FUNDS Government data shows 670,000 of these maturing CTFs are untouched — with the average balance standing at £2,212. An online tool on gov. uk is designed to identify lost accounts. If you don’t know the CTF provider, account holders will need other key details, including home address (at birth) and national insurance number. Individuals can then get in touch with the provider to find out the balance of the account and how to access the fund or transfer it into another savings vehicle. ✢ The value of your investment and any income from it can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Investing in shares should be regarded as a long-term investment and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax advice. Tax treatment varies according to individual circumstances and is subject to change. 8 INVESTMENTS CTFs grown up – the importance of children’s savings Young adults, and their parents, are being urged to track down lost Child Trust Funds (CTFs), which have an estimated £1.4bn sitting unclaimed in dormant accounts. 8 New bank rules on fraud Under new rules, banks and building societies must reimburse customers tricked into authorising a payment to fraudsters. Scammers persuade people they are talking to their bank, HMRC, or another legitimate organisation. The rules also cover those caught by ‘romance’ scams and paying for goods that don’t exist. The maximum refund is £85,000, although banks can refuse if they can prove the customer has shown a ‘significant degree of carelessness’. Tax deadline looms The self-assessment deadline of 31 January is looming, with late submissions incurring penalties and interest charges. Those needing to complete a return include the self-employed, those earning over £60,000 who also claim child benefit, anyone with untaxed income, including landlords, anyone with savings or investment income of more than £10,000 before tax, and those with total taxable income of more than £150,000. In total an estimated 12 million will need to file one of these returns by this deadline. Company car tax The tax on most company cars will start rising from April 2025, after a three-year freeze. Increases are scheduled for the following two years, and will impact all vehicles, including electric and hybrid cars, although the latter will still have a lower tax rate than more polluting vehicles. Electric cars with zero emissions are currently taxed at 2%, but this will rise by one percentage point each year to stand at 5% by the 2027/28 tax year. NEWS ROUND UP Credit: Vitalii Vodolazskyi / Shutterstock.com Credit: manpeppe/Shutterstock.com
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