GET richer in 2025 by using little-known tax allowances and other clever ways to earn extra cash.
It could all add up to a £35,000 bonus for you, as Mel Hunter explains…
Register with sites such as airtasker.com to earn £60 for some light gardening work[/caption]
Renting out your driveway could earn around £320 a year[/caption]
1. HOME FOR HIRE
RENT out your driveway through justpark.com, your garden through allotme.co.uk or your garage through stashbee.com.
Stashbee users typically earn £1,300 a year, while Just Park hosts make around £320.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown, adds: “Through the Property Allowance (HMRC tax exemption), you can make up to £1,000 from your home without having to declare it for tax.”
2. JOBS WORTH
TAKE on jobs that others don’t have the time or skills to do.
Register with sites such as airtasker.com to earn £60 for some light gardening work, or up to £5,000 a year for washing cars twice a week.
3. SHARE YOUR STUFF
Pressure washers can be loaned out for around £15 a day[/caption]
IF you have expensive equipment such as cameras, tools or sports gear, rent it out at fatllama.com.
Pressure washers can be loaned out for around £15 a day. That’s £300 a year if loaned out 20 times.
4. DITCH AND SWITCH
SWITCH to a new current account and pocket a bonus sum in the process.
First Direct and Nationwide currently offer £175.
5. SPEAK UP
YOU can earn around £30 on opinionexchange.co.uk for an hour-long online interview.
One a month will earn you £360 a year.
6. CRACK THE CODE
ACCORDING to software editor Adobe Express, computing is the side hustle that brings in the most money, with a quarter of those offering IT services earning £1,000 or more a month.
7. SPIN TO WIN
CLASSIC vinyl albums from the 1980s can fetch £25 or more on eBay if in good condition.
Sell a collection of 20 LPs and you could make up to £500.
8. WORK IT OUT
If you wear a uniform for work, you may be eligible for a tax allowance, with the likes of nurses and mechanics able to claim backdated refunds[/caption]
IF you wear a uniform for work, you may get a tax allowance.
Nurses get a £125 allowance and can claim 20 per cent of that — £25 — as a basic-rate taxpayer. Mechanics can claim £24. You can backdate your claim by four years.
9. CHECK YOUR TAX CODE
ALMOST a third of UK adults who checked their tax code found errors, says finance firm Canada Life, with three quarters overpaying nearly £700.
Check your code through gov.uk/tax-codes and claim a refund if you have overpaid.
10. RENT OUT A ROOM
LET out your furnished spare room and you won’t have to pay tax on the first £7,500 you make under the Rent a Room scheme.
11. SAVE SMART
IF you move £1,000 from a savings account paying one per cent interest to another paying nearly five per cent, you’ll earn nearly £40 extra a year.
12. TAX-FREE CHILDCARE
More than 800,000 families are missing out on up to £2,000 a year through the Government’s Tax-Free Childcare scheme[/caption]
MORE than 800,000 families are missing out on £2,000 a year in help with childcare.
If your child is 11 or under, or 16 if they have a disability, the Government’s Tax Free Childcare scheme offers up to £2,000 a year, or £4,000 if they are disabled, towards childcare bills.
13. STOOZE OR LOSE?
IF you have a good credit score, no outstanding credit card debt, some savings and you are VERY organised, look into “stoozing”.
Use a zero-per-cent-purchase credit card to buy something and keep cash in a high-interest savings account to cover its cost.
Always pay the minimum monthly repayment and when the zero-per-cent deal is about to end, pay off the balance using the savings and keep the interest earned.
14. HELP TO SAVE
IF you receive Universal Credit and earn at least £1 a month, you can use the Government’s Help to Save scheme, now running to April 2027.
Save up to £50 a month and after two years and four years the Government will pay a bonus of 50 per cent of your highest balance.
By saving the maximum you could get £600 after two years and four years.
15. BENEFITS BONUS
THE average household could save £2,700 a year by getting all the benefits they are entitled to.
More than nine in ten families are missing out on around £200 a year in broadband bill help, while four in five are not claiming £160 for water bills.
Thousands of retirees are missing out on Pension Credit worth around £3,900.
16. REFER A FRIEND
Use a refer-a-friend link for services you use, and both you and your friend can get a bonus—Virgin Media and Octopus customers can currently get £50[/caption]
USE a refer-a-friend link to connect friends to services you use, and you will both get a bonus.
Virgin Media or Octopus customers can currently get £50 when a friend signs up.
17. LOST AND FOUND
THE average amount sitting in a lost bank account is £450.
Visit mylostaccount.org.uk to see if you are owed anything, or use NS&I’s tracing request form for lost Premium Bonds.
18. UNDERCOVER EARNINGS
Become a mystery shopper and get paid for everyday tasks like shopping or testing customer service on sites like Be My Eye, Field Agent, Market Force, and Tern[/caption]
BECOME a mystery shopper to earn money doing everyday tasks such as shopping or testing customer services.
Sites include Be My Eye, Field Agent, Market Force and Tern.
19. INVEST YOUR COFFEE FUND
DITCH your daily brew and invest the money in a stocks and shares ISA.
Investing is generally for the long term, so stick with it and it could make a nice lump sum.
20. PLAY MONEY
OLD toys can be worth a mint. According to auctioneer Tim Weeks, of Wessex Auction Rooms, classic toys made 30 years ago such as He-Man figures, Star Wars paraphernalia and early games consoles are worth the most.
21. COMPENSATION CASH
YOU could get compensation for a delayed train or flight.
Train companies operate Delay Repay schemes and most offer at least a 25 per cent refund if you are more than 15 minutes late.
Consumer expert Vix Leyton has claimed nearly £160 through Delay Repay in the past six months.
You could get £220 for a flight within Europe that is delayed for three hours or more.
22. GO CASHBACK CRAZY
USE sites such as Quidco, TopCashback or Jam Doughnut to earn cash on your spending.
TopCashback claims members earn an average of £345 cashback per year.
23. SELL LIKE A PRO
Find the best site to sell on – Vinted for clothes, Facebook groups for big items, and eBay or Preloved for furniture[/caption]
FIND the right site to sell on. Clothes go well on Vinted, while bigger items work well on local Facebook groups.
Try eBay or Preloved for furniture and homeware.
You could make £100 a month, and everyone gets a £1,000 tax-free trading allowance.
24. DIRECT SELLING
AROUND 320,000 Brits work as independent sellers, each earning around £833 per month.
Half of them do so alongside another job.
25. CUT YOUR COSTS
YOU could save £160 by switching to cheaper broadband, £67 for your mobile phone, up to £209 on home insurance and up to £511 on car insurance.
That adds up to nearly £950 in savings.
