Editorial policy

Our standards

Every guide on Ask Axel aims to be accurate, clear and useful to someone at the start of their financial life. We explain how things work and set out the options. We never tell readers what to buy.

How we research

• We base every fact, figure and rule on official sources wherever possible, such as GOV.UK, HMRC, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority.
• We list the main sources at the end of each guide, so you can check them yourself.
• When a rule has been announced but isn't yet in force, we say it's 'due to' change, rather than treating it as certain.

How we use AI tools

We use AI tools to help research and draft our guides. Every guide is then checked by a person against the sources listed before it's published, and we're responsible for everything we publish.

Keeping guides up to date

Tax rules and allowances change, often at the start of the tax year on 6 April and after government Budgets. We review our guides at those times and show the date each guide was last checked at the top of the page.

Corrections

If you spot something that's wrong or out of date, please tell us. We'll check it and correct the guide as quickly as we can.

Independence and advertising

We don't sell financial products, and no company can pay to change what we write. If we show adverts or sponsored content in future, they'll always be clearly labelled, and we'll only accept financial adverts from firms authorised by the FCA.