Stamp duty holiday extended?

The 1-minute read to get the money news you need with expert adviser commentary.

No stamp duty til June

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to extend the stamp duty holiday by 3 months, keeping the tax break in place until the end of June. The deal would stay the same: anyone buying a home for up to £500,000 would have no stamp duty to pay. Under this temporary measure, 9 out of 10 homebuyers are exempt from the tax. We’ll get more details about the extension in the budget on 3rd March.

Vaccine passports?

We could soon be flashing the NHS app on entry to pubs, clubs, and theatres in England, to prove our coronavirus status. Businesses in England will be given powers to check if punters have had the jab, or the results of any recent tests. It would mean an update to the app, which currently can only offer “check in” at venues or tell you to self-isolate.

School’s not out

Kids will get extra support to help them catch up on the learning they lost during lockdown, including a programme of classes over the summer holidays. The government has announced an extra £400 million in funding for the measures, which also include extra tutoring.

Musk loses crown

Elon Musk is no longer the world’s richest person, after shares in his company Tesla took a 20% dip. The firm recently bought £1 billion of Bitcoin and announced it would accept the cryptocurrency as payment, causing the price to spike. But now Bitcoin and share prices are dropping, and the top spot is once again occupied by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos.