A new tax on vapes starts in the UK today, 2.20 pounds on every 10ml of liquid. The tax on cigarettes went up by the same amount.

The rest of the day

11 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   IRS writes to future Saver's Match savers

   The IRS, the US tax agency, is writing to people who may qualify for a new retirement payment, the Saver's Match. [9] From 2027 the US government will add up to 50% of up to 2,000 dollars a person saves for retirement, so up to 1,000 dollars a year. [10][11] A single person gets the full match on income up to 20,500 dollars, and nothing from 35,500 dollars. [11] On 28 September the US Treasury sent Congress its plan to promote the match, including a website, TrumpIRA.gov, due by 1 January 2027. [10]

   $2,000A worker saves

   ↓→

   up to $1,000US government adds

   Why it matters — The old Saver's Credit only cut a tax bill, so people who owed no income tax got nothing. The match is paid into the account even then. [10] Researchers at Brookings, a Washington think tank, proposed on 30 September a bigger match for 2.6 million to 3 million taxpayers, paid for mostly by the richest tenth. [12]

2. 03

   60 million more US children to get accounts automatically

   The US Treasury will open Trump Accounts for tens of millions of children automatically, under rules it published on Tuesday 29 September. [13] Until now a parent or guardian had to sign a child up. [13] The US Treasury says the change creates accounts for more than 60 million more children under 18. [13] A Trump Account is a savings account for a child that can only hold funds following US share prices. [14] Money generally stays in it until the year the child turns 18. [14]

   Why it matters — Opening an account for every child means gifts from rich donors reach more homes, such as the 6.25 billion dollars pledged by the businessman Michael Dell. [13] Only US citizens born from 2025 to 2028 get the US government's own 1,000 dollars, so older children start with no government deposit. [14]

3. 04

   Fewer pupils in Wales vape

   A survey of more than 130,000 secondary pupils in Wales found 9,100 in Years 7 to 11 who vape regularly, 3,200 fewer than in 2023. [5] The number who smoke regularly halved, to 1,600. [5] The share who had ever tried a vape fell from 25.7% to 21%. [5] The survey runs every two years and is done by Public Health Wales, Cardiff University and the Welsh government. [5] It relies on what pupils say about themselves. [5]

   202325.7%

   Latest survey21%

   Why it matters — Health officials say the fall began around when the ban on disposable vapes was announced, though they are still checking whether the ban caused it. [5] It arrives as the UK adds a tax meant to make vapes less appealing to young people. [1]

4. 05

   Illegal tobacco shops spread in Britain

   Trading Standards, the council officers who enforce shop rules, describe an explosion of shops selling illegal tobacco across Scotland, BBC Scotland reported in September. [6] Officers raided one shop in Inverness for the 11th time since 2024 and found illegal tobacco on nine visits, yet it is still open. [6] In Scotland officers can only fine sellers, while councils in England and Wales can apply to close a shop. [6] In Fleet, a town in Hampshire, police seized 11,180 illegal cigarettes and 4,000 pounds in cash from shops in early September. [22]

   Why it matters — Illegal cigarettes pay no tax, so they sell for less, and Thursday's tax rise makes legal cigarettes dearer still. [1][6] A Glasgow grocer, Mohammed Rajak, watches customers he refuses walk to a nearby shop he suspects sells them. [6]

5. 06

   US teenagers smoke less than ever

   Smoking among US middle and high school students fell to 1.4% in 2025, a record low, in a US government survey released in July. [23] In 1997, 36% of US high school students smoked. [23] Use of vapes fell to 5.2%, the lowest since it peaked in 2019. [23] Nicotine pouches, which sit between the lip and gum, held steady at 1.7%. [23] Researchers writing in The Conversation said US teenagers vape less than those in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, though surveys differ. [23]

   Why it matters — Adult smoking in the US has stayed about level, and older people, who smoke more, are most at risk from cigarettes. [23] The UK is taxing vapes partly to bring its own young people's vaping down. [1]

6. 07

   Guernsey's own vape tax starts 9 November

   Guernsey and Alderney, Channel Islands that set their own taxes, will charge 2.20 pounds on every 10ml of vape liquid from 9 November. [7] It is paid when the liquid enters the islands, the same way as tobacco and alcohol duty. [7] Travellers may bring in 50ml for their own use without paying it. [7] Jersey, the neighbouring island, began its own vape tax in May. [7] In St Peter Port, Guernsey's main town, the owner of the Vape Head shop closed it, blaming the coming tax and a ban on children in vape shops. [8]

   Why it matters — He says the tax on a 100ml bottle with added nicotine would be 26.40 pounds, and expects buyers to use the tax-free 50ml and to order online. [8] Specialist shops in the UK now say they face the same pressure. [1]

7. 08

   US savings still pay 0.37% on average

   The US central bank raised its main interest rate in September, to between 3.75% and 4%, its first rise since 2023. [15] On 21 September the FDIC, the US agency that insures bank deposits, put the average savings account at 0.37%. [15] Bankrate, a website that compares bank deals, lists a top savings rate of 4.20% for October, at Happen Bank. [16] US prices rose 3.4% in the year to August. [16]

   FDIC average0.37%

   Bankrate average0.65%

   Best account4.2%

   Price rise3.4%

   Why it matters — Money in an average account pays about three points less than prices are rising, so each year it buys a little less. [15][16] Bankrate counts the average differently and gets 0.65%, which is still far below the rise in prices. [16]

8. 09

   US college aid form opens early

   The FAFSA, the form US students fill in to get federal, state and college aid, opened for the 2027-28 school year before its usual date of 1 October. [17] It is filled in at studentaid.gov. [17] This year students can invite a parent to add their part by text message as well as by email. [17] New federal loans for undergraduates carry an interest rate of 6.52%, with 1 point off for students who sign up to pay automatically. [17]

   Why it matters — The federal deadline is 30 June 2028, but states and colleges set earlier ones. [17] Some aid is handed out first come, first served, so the date a form goes in can decide whether money is still left. [17]

9. 10

   7.7 million in default on US student loans

   By the end of 2025, 7.7 million borrowers had stopped repaying, or defaulted on, 181 billion dollars of US federal student loans, Education Department data showed in March. [18] Another 3 million were at least three months behind. [18] Together that is about a quarter of the nearly 43 million people with federal student loans. [18] In March the Trump administration said the US Treasury would take over loans in default from the Education Department, the first step in moving most of the system. [19]

   1 of 4

   About 1 in 4 US federal student loan borrowers seriously behind or in default

   Why it matters — The Trump administration says the US Treasury is better placed to get people in default repaying, and the move is also part of President Trump's plan to close the Education Department, NPR reported. [19] NPR put the number in default at more than 9 million, higher than the Education Department's 7.7 million. [19][18]

10. 11

    Heating oil buyers due compensation

    In July the CMA, Britain's competition watchdog, said about 1,700 households had heating oil orders cancelled when the US and Israel's war with Iran began. [20] They had to reorder at higher prices, costing up to 350 pounds, or go without. [20] Some suppliers agreed to pay compensation, and the CMA said it was preparing court action against those that refused. [20] Retail heating oil prices peaked 92% higher. [20] About 1.5 million UK households heat with oil, most of them in Northern Ireland. [20]

    Why it matters — The CMA found suppliers had not made much extra profit, but these households lack the protections that gas and electricity customers have. [20] It has asked for new rules on how prices are quoted and how cancellations are handled. [20]

11. 12

    Bank of England study: new homes slow price rises

    A Bank of England working paper published in July built a way to measure the risk of house prices falling, across the UK and its regions. [21] Since the 1970s the best warning signs of a big fall have been fewer home sales, changes in mortgage rates, borrowing growing faster than the economy, and stress in financial markets. [21] In most regions, more homes being built was followed by slower price rises. [21]

    Why it matters — Mortgage rates move prices most in regions where few new homes can be built. [21] Working papers are research in progress and do not state the Bank's official view. [21]