About PocketWise
PocketWise is a free UK personal finance resource built on a straightforward idea: understanding your money should not require a financial degree, a solicitor, or a subscription.
Since launching in 2025, we have published over 2,200 in-depth guides and free calculators — every one of them written specifically for the UK market, drawing on primary sources including HMRC, GOV.UK, the FCA, the DWP, the ONS, and the Bank of England.
PocketWise is an online publication based in the United Kingdom. We are independent — not tied to any bank, lender, insurer, or financial product provider — and our only obligation is to the reader.
Why PocketWise Exists
Managing personal finances in the UK has never been straightforward. Income tax bands, National Insurance thresholds, ISA rules, Universal Credit taper rates, pension annual allowances, stamp duty reliefs — the landscape is complex, it changes every year, and the consequences of getting things wrong fall on ordinary people, not institutions.
There is no shortage of financial content online. What is often missing is content that is specific to the United Kingdom, grounded in primary official sources, written in plain English, and produced by people with genuine expertise in UK financial rules. Too many personal finance websites either recycle American financial advice poorly adapted for a UK audience, or present oversimplified guidance that leaves readers no better equipped to make real decisions.
PocketWise was founded to fill that gap — to be the resource we wished existed when dealing with tax codes, benefit eligibility queries, mortgage affordability calculations, and pension planning questions.
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide clear, jargon-free, actionable financial guidance that helps UK readers understand their money and make better-informed decisions.
Every article we publish is guided by three principles:
- Accuracy — factual claims are sourced from authoritative UK bodies and verified before publication
- Clarity — complex rules are explained in plain English, with worked examples, not buried in caveats
- Relevance — our content reflects UK-specific rules, rates, and regulations, updated for the current tax year
We do not publish to fill a content quota. We publish because there is a genuine reader need for trustworthy, specific, current UK personal finance information.
What We Cover
PocketWise publishes guides, calculators, and explainers across the full range of UK personal finance topics:
- Tax — income tax bands and rates, National Insurance contributions, self-assessment, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, and annual tax year guides updated each April
- Benefits and Support — Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Child Benefit, Pension Credit, Carer’s Allowance, Housing Benefit, and Scottish and Welsh-specific benefit variations
- Mortgages and Property — mortgage affordability, first-time buyer schemes, Help to Buy, stamp duty (SDLT and LBTT in Scotland), remortgaging, and property ownership costs
- Pensions and Retirement — new State Pension, workplace auto-enrolment, SIPPs, pension tax relief, annual allowance, and retirement income planning
- Savings and Investing — Cash ISAs, Stocks and Shares ISAs, Lifetime ISAs, Premium Bonds, fixed-rate savings, and introductory investing guides
- Banking — current accounts, switching incentives, joint accounts, digital banks, and payment protections
- Income and Employment — take-home pay guides by salary, payslip explanations, student loan repayment thresholds, salary sacrifice, and redundancy rights
- Self-Employment — sole trader and limited company tax, Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance, allowable expenses, IR35, and the Construction Industry Scheme
- Insurance — life insurance, income protection, critical illness cover, home insurance, and car insurance guides
- Credit and Debt — credit scores, County Court Judgements (CCJs), debt management plans, IVAs, and responsible borrowing guides
- Credit Cards — balance transfers, credit-building cards, cashback, and eligibility guides
- Money and Budgeting — budgeting methods, cost of living guidance, emergency funds, and savings strategies
- Energy — energy price caps, switching suppliers, and reducing household energy costs
Our Team
James Whitfield — Lead Personal Finance Writer
James Whitfield is the primary writer and content reviewer at PocketWise, covering tax, benefits, pensions, and income.
His primary areas of expertise at PocketWise include:
- Income Tax and National Insurance — rates, thresholds, personal allowance, PAYE, self-assessment, and tax codes
- Benefits and Entitlements — Universal Credit, PIP, Child Benefit, Carer’s Allowance, and the full range of DWP-administered support
- Pensions — State Pension (new and transitional), workplace pensions, SIPPs, auto-enrolment, and salary sacrifice
- Self-Employment — sole trader tax, Class 2/4 NI, expenses, IR35, and limited company basics
- Income and Employment — take-home pay calculations, salary benchmarks using ONS data, payslip guides, and redundancy rights
- Mortgages — mortgage affordability, first-time buyer schemes, and stamp duty
Every article James writes or reviews is held to a rigorous research standard: primary sources only, all calculations verified, all rate and threshold data cross-checked against official publications at the start of every tax year.
Our Editorial Approach
Every PocketWise article is researched using primary UK government and regulatory sources. We do not use other personal finance websites as a source of facts. Our reference hierarchy is:
- HMRC guidance and technical publications
- GOV.UK policy and eligibility pages
- DWP statistical releases and guidance
- FCA consumer guidance and register data
- ONS statistical bulletins and datasets
- Bank of England publications and monetary policy summaries
- The Pensions Regulator guidance
- Official publications from devolved administrations (Scottish Government, Welsh Government) where content covers Scottish or Welsh variations
All content is fact-checked before publication, clearly dated, and reviewed on a rolling schedule. Every article shows its publication date and the date it was last reviewed.
For full details of how we research, write, review, and correct our content, see our Editorial Policy.
Our Commitment to Accuracy
Financial information is perishable. Tax rates change every April. Benefit rates are uprated annually. Mortgage rates move weekly. We take this seriously:
- Tax year content is updated every April to reflect the new tax year from 6 April
- Rate-sensitive content is reviewed immediately following Budget announcements and Bank of England base rate decisions
- All published guides are reviewed on a rolling annual schedule as a minimum
- Factual errors — whether spotted internally or flagged by a reader — are corrected promptly and logged on our Corrections page
We display both the original publication date and the most recent review date on every article, so you always know how current the information is.
Independence and Funding
PocketWise is an independent publication. We have no affiliation with any bank, lender, insurer, pension provider, or financial product company. Our editorial decisions are not influenced by commercial relationships.
The site is funded through display advertising — currently served through Google AdSense and Mediavine — and through affiliate links, where we may earn a commission if you click through and purchase or sign up for a product. This has no influence on what we write, what we recommend, or what conclusions our guides reach.
For full transparency on how we make money and how that does and does not affect our content, see our Advertising & Affiliate Disclosure.
Important Disclaimer
PocketWise is not an FCA-regulated firm. The content on this site is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal, or any other form of regulated advice.
Tax rates, benefit rates, thresholds, and regulations are based on current UK rules at the time of writing and may change. Always verify current rates with HMRC, GOV.UK, or the relevant authority.
For important financial decisions, we strongly recommend consulting a qualified, FCA-regulated financial adviser. You can find one through Unbiased or access free, impartial guidance from MoneyHelper.
Contact Us
Have a question, spotted an error, or want to suggest a topic? We’d love to hear from you. Visit our Contact page to get in touch.