We're in the final week of March, and most people are thinking about Easter holidays or spring cleaning. But if you care about your money, March is actually one of the most important months of the year. Why? Because in nine days, the UK tax year ends on April 5, and that changes everything about how you can earn from your banking.
I'm not talking about rushing to file your tax return (though you should). I'm talking about the fact that right now, in late March, you have a narrow window to start banking moves that will pay off for the entire next financial year. Switch a bank now, and you'll have your £1,200 bonus ready before April 5. Start stoozing on a best 0% cards, and you'll have months of interest-free earning ahead. Open a regular savers account, and you'll be in the system by the time your first payment counts.
If you wait until April, you've missed something. Not everything—you can still switch after April 5—but you've lost the advantage of having April 5 fall in the middle of your earning cycle, not at the beginning of it.
Let me walk you through exactly what you should be doing right now, and why timing matters more than you probably think.
Why the Tax Year Matters More Than You Realise
The UK tax year is oddly positioned: it runs from April 6 to April 5 the following year. This isn't the same as the calendar year, and it's the root of why March is important.
Here's the thing: tax is assessed annually between April 6 and April 5. That means any money you earn from interest, bonuses, or stoozing is taxed based on which tax year it falls into. But more importantly for our purposes, many banks use the tax year as a cutoff for eligibility. Some switch bonuses are paid within 30 days of switching; others take longer. Some regular saver accounts reset their interest rates on April 6. Some 0% interest periods on credit cards last exactly 12 months, meaning if you start now, your interest-free period runs perfectly into April 2022.
In other words: the April 5 boundary is a natural reset point for your banking strategy. If you start your moves now, in late March, you're position yourself to maximise the entire next financial year.
Wait until May, and you've already wasted six weeks of a new tax year. Your switching bonus might be paid in May instead of March, shifting your cash flow. Your regular saver account might only open new accounts on the first of the month, meaning you've missed a month of contributions. Your 0% credit card's interest-free period might end in April 2023 instead of lasting until mid-2022.
The math isn't complicated. Starting now gives you a full financial year to plan your moves. Starting in May gives you a shortened runway.
The Three Moves You Should Start This Week
Let's get practical. Here are the three things you should be doing right now, before April 5:
1. Switch Your Current Account (If You Haven't Already)
The current bank switch offers are solid. You're looking at bonuses between £100 and £1,500 depending on which bank you choose. Starling Bank is offering around £1,200 if you switch via uSwitch. TSB's offering similar amounts. HSBC is offering £125. Barclays is competitive.
The key: you need to complete the switch before April 5 to have the bonus clear in the tax year that ends April 5. Not the switch itself—the bonus payment.
This is where cooling-off checker periods become crucial (we'll get to that in a moment), but the headline is: if you switch now, your switching window (which includes the cooling-off period) runs through April and your bonus should land in May or June. That's tax year 2021-22, which is fine. But if you wait until April 10, your cooling-off period runs into May, and the bonus lands in June, and everything's still fine. The real risk is waiting too long into April, because then you're eating into the new tax year's monthly allowances and earnings caps.
Action: Check which banks are offering the biggest bonuses right now, check if you're eligible, and apply today or tomorrow. Don't overthink it.
2. Start a 0% Stoozing Strategy
This one's often overlooked because people assume it takes ages to set up. It doesn't. A 0% balance transfer or spending card from Barclays, Santander, or Tesco will arrive within 5-10 business days. You could have a card in your hand by the first week of April.
Here's the play: get a card with 0% interest on spending (or balance transfers, or both). Put money on it that you'd normally keep in savings. Stick your normal bank balance in a savings account earning interest. For 12-18 months, you're earning interest on money you're technically "spending" at 0%, which means the interest is yours to keep.
If you start this now, your 0% period could run until mid-2022. Start in May, and it doesn't end until mid-2023—but you've lost the momentum, and you've lost the psychological edge of having everything set up by the end of the tax year.
Action: Apply for a 0% credit card this week. Check the card's terms carefully—look for whether there's interest on balance transfers, spending, or both. StoozeMax has a full guide on how stoozing works if you're new to this.
3. Open a Regular Saver Account
Regular saver accounts are often overlooked because they sound boring. But they're not: they're currently offering interest rates between 2% and 3.5% AER on deposits of up to a few hundred pounds per month, depending on the bank.
TSB is offering around 3.9% on their Spend & Save accounts. Santander's 123 Lite is offering around 3.94%. These are genuine, real rates that beat almost everything else out there.
The catch: you can only deposit a certain amount each month (usually £250–£500), and you have to keep the money in for the full term (usually 12 months).
Here's why March matters: if you open a regular saver account now, your first deposit counts from March or early April. That means you're getting interest for the full 12 months before the account matures. Open it in May, and you're only getting 10 months of interest on that first year's contributions. Open it in late June, and you're down to 8 months.
Over a year, if you're contributing £300 per month into a 3.9% account, you're looking at around £60-£70 in interest. If you start in March instead of June, you're getting an extra £15-£20. That's not nothing.
Action: Check which regular saver accounts are available, open one this week, and set up your first transfer for early April.
Cooling-Off Periods: Why Timing Is Your Secret Weapon
Here's something most people don't talk about: when you switch banks, you get a 14-day cooling-off period where you can change your mind. The bank has to process this and return your money.
That sounds fine. But here's the trick: during the cooling-off period, your money is in limbo. It's not in your old account earning interest. It's not in your new account earning interest. It's nowhere. It's just sitting in a switching pipeline, doing nothing.
If you switch on March 22, your cooling-off period runs until April 5. You might reclaim your money on April 5, at which point it might take another 2-3 days to hit your account. So you've lost interest for about two weeks.
If you switch on March 15, your cooling-off period runs until March 29. You get your money back to your account by March 31, and you've only lost interest for about two weeks—but you've also had a few extra days at the end of March where your money was actually sitting in the new account, potentially earning interest (if the account had already paid).
The bigger point: don't switch so late that your cooling-off period eats into the new tax year. Switch late enough that your cooling-off period completes before April 5. This way, your money spends April 6 onwards in your new account, and you haven't wasted any part of the new financial year in limbo.
The same logic applies to regular saver accounts. If you open one on March 22, you might not make your first deposit until April 5, and the interest might not start accruing until April 6. If you open one on March 15, you're making that first deposit by March 31, and you're already in the interest-earning cycle for the new tax year.
Your April-to-June Gameplan
Once April 5 ticks over, you shift into a different mode. You're no longer in "finish the tax year" mode; you're in "maximise the new tax year" mode.
First, your switching bonuses should be landing. If you switched in late March or early April, expect to see your bonus (£100 to £1,500) in your account during April or May. Don't spend it. Park it in a savings account or use it to fund your stoozing strategy.
Second, your regular saver account is now live. You've already made your first deposit (or you're making it on April 6). You're in the routine. Every month from April onwards, you're adding £250 or £300 or £500 (whatever the account allows), and you're earning interest on the cumulative balance. This continues through March 2022.
Third, your 0% credit card is now being used. You're making everyday purchases on it (groceries, petrol, utilities—anything you'd normally pay for). Your actual money is sitting in a savings account earning interest. You're pocketing the difference.
By June, if you've done all three things, you should have:
- A switching bonus in the bank (or soon to arrive)
- A 0% card funding months of interest-free earning
- A regular saver account putting away money each month at 3-4% interest
- Your cash positioned to earn rather than sit idle
That's the "triple stack" in action. It's not complicated, and it's not aggressive—it's just sensible. But the timing matters. Start in March, and you get the full year of benefit. Start in June, and you've lost six months.
Common Questions
If I switch now, will my bonus be taxed?
Short answer: only if your total interest income (from all sources) exceeds your personal savings allowance. For most people, it doesn't. Check our guide on whether bank switch bonuses are taxed, but spoiler: most switchers pay zero tax on their bonuses.
Can I do multiple switches before April 5?
You can start multiple switches, yes—but there's a cooling-off period on each one. So if you switch two banks in the same week, you've got two separate 14-day periods running in parallel. You'll end up with money in limbo for two weeks. It's doable, but it's a bit chaotic. Better to space them out: one switch now, one in early April. Both bonuses will land in May, and you'll have had time to manage the cooling-off periods properly.
What if I've already switched and I'm already stoozing?
Good—you're ahead of the game. Focus on opening a regular saver account and getting money into it before the tax year ends. Then, in April, think about whether you want a second switch (to another bank) to compound your bonuses. The key is momentum: each month in the new tax year, you're earning from three different sources at once.
Do I have to switch banks to use the triple stack?
No. If you're happy with your current bank, you can skip the switching element and just focus on stoozing + regular savers. But honestly, switching is free and bonuses are real money. If your current bank isn't offering a bonus, it makes sense to move.
Is it too late to start in late March?
Not too late to start, but you're running short on time for the full cooling-off period to clear by April 5. If you apply today (March 28) for a switch or a regular saver or a credit card, you should be fine. But wait until April 2 or later, and you're cutting it close. Start this week.
The bottom line: March isn't just the end of the tax year. It's the gateway to the next one. Use it wisely.