Cost-of-living crisis hits home

More than 10 million Brits will struggle after being hit by price hikes that aren’t matched by rises in benefits, the Institute for Fiscal Studies says.

Most will go up by 3.1% in April – half of the expected increase in the cost of living.

Many benefits and the state pension are linked to inflation, but the rates for this year were set before prices started to rise. ■■People who need to complete selfassessment returns are being given an extra month to do so before late-filing penalties are applied.

Normally, HMRC issues fines for returns received after the January 31 deadline.

But, like last year, late-filing penalties will not be applied to online tax returns received by February 28.