In this video, Ndubuisi 'Andy' Egwim recounts his personal experience of struggling financially while studying for a master's in international health and the PLAB exam in the UK, working low‑paid jobs to make ends meet. He uses the Bank of England inflation calculator to show that £100 in 2016 is equivalent to £141 in 2026, highlighting that key UK tax thresholds – the £100,000 personal‑allowance withdrawal point (the 60% tax trap) and the higher‑rate threshold of £50,270 – have remained unchanged since 2021. This mismatch creates fiscal drag, pulling more of a doctor’s income into higher effective tax rates despite rising prices and wages. Andy explains how this phenomenon erodes take‑home pay for doctors, stresses the importance of tax planning, and invites viewers to share their own experiences of price increases. The video serves as part of the Moneywise Doctor channel’s mission to help medical professionals understand and improve their tax efficiency.
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The most expensive tax changes are the ones that never happened. I'll explain. So 10 years ago, while completing my master's, I was doing a master's in international health at the University of Nottingham. I was also studying for my PLAB. So PLAB, my medical exam that will allow me to work as a doctor in the UK. If you've trained outside the UK, coming to the UK, you have to do some exams to practice. So I was fairly new to the UK and money was tight. After a year of not working, I ran out of savings. Combined with exchange fluctuations. So I worked in a factory, a bakery, and even the university kitchen, whatever I could do to stay afloat, pay my rent, and pay my expenses. But during that period, I paid very close attention to what things cost. You know, I had no choice. I was also studying the UK tax system, understanding the financial system. I'm glad I did. Now, looking back 10 years later today in 2026, something struck me. I was looking at the Bank of England's inflation calculator, as you do. Something that cost £100 in 2016 £100 in 2016 will cost £141 today. £100 in 2016 will cost £141 today. But the strange thing is that some important tax thresholds have not moved at all. They've just stayed in the same place. Now, the £100,000 threshold, which is also the 60% tax trap where you start losing your personal allowance and falling into the 60% tax trap, it hasn't moved at all. It has remained the same. So the higher rate threshold as well, where you start paying 40% tax, that's £50,270. It was set in April 2021 and is frozen till April April 2031. It's not moved since 5 years now. So we have a situation here. Prices rise, you know, your salaries may even rise as you progress in your career, but something is not rising, you know, in adjustment. The frozen thresholds, they're still there and they are quietly pulling more of your income into higher effective tax rates. So that's fiscal drag in action and it catches out thousands, thousands of doctors every single year. So that's why you wonder why you're working so hard and you can't tell where your money goes. So it goes without saying now that earning more doesn't always mean more take-home pay. And that's part of what we share here at Moneywise Doctor to help doctors understand better how to be more tax efficient. Without tax planning, it's a bit like pouring coins into a pocket with a hole, trying to fill a bucket with a leak. That's not going to happen. You're just going to end up with burnout. So tell me in the comments, what's something you remember buying a few years ago that now costs way more today than it cost many years ago? I'm interested to know.
