The badger, like the human, cleans its house in the springtime, pushing the mossy winter bedding out of its sett and replacing it with fresh leaves such as wild garlic and bluebells. These may help to keep fleas and other bugs at bay, and as they compost they can release some extra heat into the den. For humans the vernal ritual is primal enough that it is reflected in most cultures: churches are cleaned on Maundy Thursday, houses are cleaned before Passover, and in Iran – at the turning of the Persian New Year – carpets are cleaned and walls are repainted in a tradition that has been observed for millennia.
The origins of the tax year are similarly ancient. The pagan calendar began on the winter solstice, and while the Normans were, like us, on the first-of-January team, there were 600 years in which England followed the Julian calendar, which began with the Feast of the Annunciation (25 March). Because the Virgin Mary was involved in the Annunciation this date was known as “Lady Day”. Medieval debts, rents and contracts were typically due to be settled by certain religious festivals such as Lady Day or Michaelmas, because reading the calendar wasn’t something most people could do.
In 1752 England switched to the Gregorian calendar, but the Julian calendar had – due to a technical fault – fallen 11 days behind, so 11 days were skipped. The Treasury, which was just as averse to losing money then as it is now, responded by extending the tax year by 11 days, into early April, and after a further day was added in 1800, the financial year began on 6 April, as it has ever since. The Budget, for most of its history, took place just before the end of the financial year, until two fiscal events were introduced by the 1975 Industry Act and then in 2017 the Autumn Statement was made the main event, so that the legislation introduced in it might actually be passed by the new financial year.
Like the wise badger (or the wise mole, in Kenneth Grahame’s account) the vernal equinox is a good moment to, in a financial sense, de-flea. It’s especially important this year because next month a batch of new costs will arrive. The new financial year will bring price hikes from private businesses (mobile phone and broadband contracts, energy and water bills) and the state (council tax, vehicle duty, TV licence). Some estimates put the extra cost per year at £600 per household.
Some of these are things you can’t do much about, but others you can. Locking in to an energy deal before the price cap rises on 1 April is a good idea, and while your phone bill is allowed to rise with inflation, you’re also allowed to threaten to leave your network, which in my experience usually ends with them offering me a cheaper deal. You could also buy some stamps, if you’re planning to do a lot of postage, because the price of a first-class stamp is rising by 5p.
On the more positive side, if you’re in a position to invest significant sums, it’s also worth doing so before the end of the financial year in order to leave yourself with the maximum allowance next year. This applies to pensions, ISAs and other allowances like those for capital gains tax. If you can, you may also wish to pay into a Junior ISA or your partner’s pension.
One point that’s unique for this year is to make sure there aren’t any gaps in your state-pension history. You need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance records to get the full amount in retirement, and if you’ve spent time abroad or out of work, there might be gaps, which you can close by paying voluntary National Insurance contributions. The gov.uk website’s page on voluntary National Insurance contributions is fairly straightforward and includes a link to check your record for gaps. If you do this before 5 April, you can fill any years missing back to 2006 by paying voluntary contributions.
It’s not a bad time of year to take care of such things: it’s still quite cold, and probably raining, so a day set aside to wilfully address a list of personal finance questions could pay off later in the year, and beyond.
[See also: What Rachel Reeves can learn from Keynes]
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This article appears in the 19 Mar 2025 issue of the New Statesman, The Golden Age