Business
Here’s what you could do with your money after cash ISA cut in Reeves’s Budget
.jpeg?width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800 "Here’s what you could do with your money after cash ISA cut in Reeves’s Budget")
Rachel Reeves is set to cut the cash ISA limit in Wednesday’s Budget, with the cap poised to drop from £20,000 to £12,000.
The proposed move, seen as a bid to encourage more people towards investing rather than only saving in cash, has prompted a mixed reaction from consumers and businesses.
Many savers will not feel the impact of a cut on a day to day (or year to year, more specifically) limit, bearing in mind the difficulty many people have in saving upwards of £1,000 per month. But they could still be hit when they come into a lump sum – through inheritance, for example, or a property sale.
Either way, some people clearly want to move money before limits are cut. One cash ISA provider, Plum, told The Independent they’d seen a 49 per cent spike in the amount deposited into accounts between 15 October and 15 November.
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So what are the next possible moves for your cash, what are the rules around the different options and – the question the chancellor wants people to answer “yes” to – should you be starting to invest?
ISA limits and rules
First things first, the full ISA limit of £20,000 is not being reduced. It’s just the cash ISA limit which is (apparently) coming down.
Similar to how you can put a maximum of £4,000 into a lifetime ISA and still put another £16,000 elsewhere, you will still be able to utilise the additional £8,000 of your annual allowance in different tax-free products.
So, for example, if you had the full amount to use, you might opt to save £12,000 in a cash ISA, £4,000 in a lifetime version and the remaining £4,000 in a stocks and shares investing ISA.
Saving still an option
If you have more than £12,000 annually to put away into savings and you want it to stay in accessible cash, you still can – you just need to be aware of tax implications.
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Basic rate taxpayers can earn £1,000 in interest before paying any tax, which is known as the personal savings allowance.
Given that top interest-paying easy access accounts right now are about 4.5 per cent, it means you could have £22,000 in an account paying that rate and yielding £990 in interest. Nothing would be payable on that (assuming it didn’t push you into the next tax band, added to your total income).
For higher rate taxpayers, it’s a £500 limit, and additional rate payers get no PSA at all.
Interest earned beyond that threshold becomes taxable – and remember it’s all interest earned, so if you have multiple accounts or income from trust funds, government bonds and even some life insurance contracts, that all goes towards the total.
The wider question from these amounts is how much you need in accessible savings. There’s more on that below.
Pension payments
Although many people have a workplace pension, that is one area which also faces probable disruption during the Budget, with limits set on how much salary sacrifice can be made before national insurance contributions are no longer exempt.
But you can also put spare cash towards your retirement if you don’t need it in savings.
Self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) are ones you manage yourself, while many providers offer ready-made pensions or different styles depending on your age and other factors – you just pay in, and they decide where your money goes, to grow over time before you need it in retirement.
Pending any changes to this type of pension in the Budget, it remains tax-efficient over time as gains inside pensions are tax-free – though be aware of rules around tax for when it comes time to take money out of your pension.
Investing and ‘risk’
And so to investing. Some people have an aversion to the word itself and think “it’s not for me” – sometimes without realising it’s already what they do when they have a pension.
It simply means your money is in other types of assets rather than just cash – but if you are risk-averse and want £20,000 in your ISA each year, there are still ways around that.
For example, some providers pay interest on uninvested cash in an investing ISA. Or, you could buy what’s known as money market funds – these are designed to be low-risk assets made up of things like Treasury bonds, short-term securities and other things. They are seen as short-term options if you don’t want to leave cash earning nothing at all, as you can still get a return and the market for them is usually liquid – in other words, you can sell them quickly when you need the cash.
But this misses the wider point of investing, which is that over time, it usually can give better returns than just cash alone.
Experts generally agree that people need between three and six months of essential costs in easily accessible cash – exactly how much depends on your circumstances (secure job industry, how many dependents, and so on) and your tolerance of having a safety net.
Beyond that, extra cash which you don’t need in the next few years – if you plan to buy a house next year, for example, it’s probably not for you – can often be better put to use by investing.
When products, adverts or companies talk about investing being more risky, it’s because they are legally obligated to. It doesn’t mean “you risk losing everything”; it’s more that when you take on more risk with your money, you expect to be paid more in return for that additional risk.
As such, while it can carry more risk to invest in a single company which could lose value on the stock market – or could double in value – it’s less risk to invest in a fund, a group of companies which share a common trait, such as being listed on the London Stock Exchange. So a fund is less likely to go up or down in value by as much as a single stock might do.
Whatever you decide to do with your money, it’s important to get all the details and facts first, have a clear assessment of your own needs and likely requirements in the future, and then act with a plan in mind.
BP has warned it expects to book up to five billion dollars (£3.7 billion) in write-downs across its gas and low-carbon energy division as it also said oil trading had been weak in its final quarter.
The oil giant joined FTSE 100 rival Shell, after it also last week cautioned over a weaker performance from trading, which comes amid a drop in the cost of crude.
BP said Brent crude prices averaged 63.73 dollars per barrel in the fourth quarter of last year compared with 69.13 dollars a barrel in the previous three months.
Oil prices have slumped in recent weeks, partly driven lower due to US President Donald Trump’s move to oust and detain Venezuela’s leader and lay claim to crude in the region, leading to fears of a supply glut.
In its update ahead of full-year results, BP also said it expects to book a four billion dollar (£3 billion) to five billion dollar (£3.7 billion) impairment in its so-called transition businesses, largely relating to its gas and low-carbon energy division.
But it said further progress had been made in slashing debts, with its net debt falling to between 22 billion and 23 billion dollars (£16.4 billion to £17.1 billion) at the end of 2025, down from 26.1 billion dollars (£19.4 billion) at the end of September.
It comes after the firm’s surprise move last month to appoint Woodside Energy boss Meg O’Neill as its new chief executive as Murray Auchincloss stepped down after less than two years in the role.
Ms O’Neill will start in the role on April 1, with Carol Howle, current executive vice president of supply, trading and shipping at BP, acting as chief executive on an interim basis until the new boss joins.
Ms O’Neill’s appointment has made history as she will become the first woman to run BP – and also the first to head up a top five global oil company – as well as being the first ever outsider to take on the post at BP.
Shares in BP fell 1% in morning trading on Wednesday after the latest update.
Business
Budget 2026: Kolkata realtors seek tax relief, revised affordable housing cap; eye demand revival – The Times of India
Real estate developers in Kolkata have urged the Centre to use the Union Budget to recalibrate housing policies to reflect rising land and construction costs, calling for higher tax benefits for homebuyers and a long-pending revision of the affordable housing definition to revive demand, especially in the mid-income segment, PTI reported.With the Budget set to be tabled on February 1, industry players said measures such as revisiting price caps for affordable homes, rationalising GST on under-construction properties and easing approval processes could significantly improve affordability and sales momentum.Sushil Mohta, president of CREDAI West Bengal and chairman of Merlin Group, said reforms must align with current market realities. “Revisiting the affordable housing definition, rationalising housing loan interest deductions and streamlining GST rates will significantly improve affordability and demand, especially for middle-income homebuyers,” he told PTI, adding that a policy push for rental housing and wider access to formal housing finance is crucial amid rapid urbanisation.Mahesh Agarwal, managing director of Purti Realty, said continued policy support through tax rationalisation and infrastructure spending remains critical. “A re-evaluation of affordable housing price limits in line with rising land and construction costs, along with adjustments to GST on under-construction property, will enhance affordability,” he said, stressing that simpler tax frameworks and incentives for first-time buyers would help stabilise the market and speed up project execution.Echoing similar concerns, Merlin Group MD Saket Mohta pointed to sharp increases in construction costs since the introduction of GST in 2017, underscoring the need for further rationalisation. He also called for raising the affordable housing price cap from Rs 45 lakh to around Rs 80–90 lakh and expanding unit size norms. “Mid-income housing will be the key demand driver going into 2026, and supportive tax and policy measures are essential to sustain growth,” he said.Eden Realty MD Arya Sumant said the Budget must strike a balance between fiscal discipline and growth-oriented reforms. “Higher home loan interest deductions for mid-income and first-time buyers, an updated affordable housing definition, GST rationalisation and faster approvals will improve project viability and speed-to-market,” he said, adding that sustained urban infrastructure investment would unlock demand across residential and commercial segments.Sahil Saharia, CEO of Bengal Shristi Infrastructure Development Ltd, said policy focus should shift towards large, integrated developments. “Support for mixed-use townships, rental housing and commercial hubs, along with faster clearances and digital single-window mechanisms, can help create self-sustained urban ecosystems and improve execution efficiency,” he said.Developers said clear and stable policy signals in the Budget could help restore homebuyer confidence, attract long-term capital and ensure sustainable growth for the real estate sector in eastern India.
Circular debt in the power sector has increased in the first five months of the ongoing financial year (FY). Sources told that the debt shot up by Rs223 billion since July 2025 to reach Rs1,837 billion in November 2025 within two months of the signing of agreements to reduce the debt by Rs1225 billion.
Despite the fact that the government had signed agreements with banks in September last year to reduce the debt, it increased by Rs144 billion in October and November.
In September, the debt stood at Rs1,693 billion, while it was Rs1,614 billion in June 2025.
Sources informed that compared with November 2024, the debt in November 2025 came down by Rs544 billion.
It was Rs2,381 in November 2024, they added.
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