How we source, verify and refresh.
RichQuid publishes calculators, guides and reference pages on UK personal finance. This page is the record of how each piece of data on the site is sourced, how often it’s reviewed, and what we mean when we use words like “verified” or “estimated”.
We’re not FCA-authorised and we don’t give personal financial advice. The site exists to make the public-record numbers easier to read and use — nothing more.
Our authoritative sources
The figures used across the site are drawn from these official sources:
- HMRC and gov.uk — income tax bands, NI rates and thresholds, ISA and pension allowances, CGT, dividend allowance, IHT, marriage allowance, student loan plans, Self Assessment rules.
- Bank of England — base rate, monetary policy decisions, financial stability data.
- Office for National Statistics (ONS) — CPI and CPIH inflation, labour market and earnings, GDP.
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) — mortgage and consumer credit rules, financial promotion guidance, FSCS thresholds (in conjunction with FSCS itself).
- The Pensions Regulator (TPR) — auto-enrolment thresholds, qualifying earnings, employer duties.
- Revenue Scotland — LBTT rates and the Additional Dwelling Supplement.
- Welsh Revenue Authority — LTT rates for residential and higher residential transactions.
Where a figure on this site might be checked against any of these, the relevant guide or calculator includes a direct link.
Refresh cadence
Different data types move at different speeds. Our review schedule:
| Data | How often we review | Triggered by |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax bands, NI rates, ISA/pension allowances, CGT and dividend allowances | Annually after each Spring Budget, and immediately after any in-year change | HMRC publication of the new tax year’s figures |
| Stamp duty thresholds (SDLT, LBTT, LTT) | On the effective date of any rate or band change | HMRC, Revenue Scotland or WRA announcements |
| Student loan plan thresholds | Annually each April | Department for Education / Student Loans Company announcements |
| Bank of England base rate | After every MPC meeting (~ 8 per year) | MPC announcement |
| UK inflation, unemployment and earnings figures | Monthly | ONS release calendar |
| Savings rate ranges (cash ISA, fixed bonds, regular savers) | Monthly, or whenever leading-edge rates shift by ~25bp | BoE base rate moves and major-bank product launches |
| Editorial guides (tax-year checklist, FTB route map, etc.) | At least once per tax year | Any change that materially alters the guide’s working assumptions |
Every guide and calculator carries a “Last reviewed” date — that’s the date we last read through and confirmed the figures against the underlying source.
What “verified” vs “estimated” means here
Verified means we’ve checked the figure against the linked official source on the date shown. Tax bands, NI thresholds, ISA allowances and similar statutory figures are verified.
Estimated means the figure isn’t directly published by an authority — it’s our reasonable read of public market data. Savings rate ranges are estimates. Mortgage stress-test rates (~7–9%) are estimates of typical lender practice rather than a single regulated figure. We say so where it applies.
What we won’t do
We deliberately don’t publish a few things — usually because doing so safely would need a regulated data feed and authorisation we don’t have:
- Named-provider rate comparisons. “Bank X is the best easy-access ISA today” needs a live data feed and FCA-authorised editorial review. We point readers to Moneyfacts and MoneySavingExpert instead.
- Personalised recommendations. The calculators produce numbers from your inputs; they don’t tell you what to do with the answer. That’s a regulated activity.
- Outcome predictions. We won’t say “you’ll save £X” — only that “at these inputs, the calculation produces £X”.
- Hidden affiliate-led recommendations. When we earn commission from a provider mentioned in a guide, the affiliate disclosure appears on the page. We don’t change the editorial position based on the commission.
Accuracy and corrections
We aim for zero errors on statutory figures. If you spot a mistake — a wrong threshold, an out-of-date rate, a broken HMRC link — please email enquiries@richquid.co.uk. We’ll correct it, log it, and bump the page’s “Last reviewed” date.
If you need actual advice
For personal financial advice in the UK, the regulated route is to find an adviser via the FCA Register or impartial guidance via MoneyHelper (the government’s free service). RichQuid is neither — and won’t pretend to be.