Antony Barton shares his top 5 end of tax year tips to help you get your finances sorted. It’s not too late – get in touch if you need any help!
Tip one:
Get your ISAs topped up. As you’d expect, we at Robertson Baxter love an ISA – saving without income or capital gains tax is always good! The maximum is £20,000 per tax year per person and you’ve got until the 5th April for it to count in this tax year. Don’t forget £4260 for junior ISAs for the kids and there’s Lifetime and Help to Buy ISAs for those saving for a home.
Three key things to remember:
- Anything is better than nothing – don’t feel it is only worth it for the maximum amount, everything saved in an ISA is worth doing.
- Left it too late to decide which investment is best for you? – just get your allowance into a Cash ISA and it can always be transferred later
- Make a resolution not to leave it until the last minute next year – why not get £20,000 into your ISA on 6th April or set up a direct debit to get it done monthly?
Tip two:
Here’s a nice quick one for you. Nothing says romance like transferring your income producing assets to your spouse! You both have an annual personal allowance that is there to be used, so consider transferring rental property, savings and investments to make use of both.
Tip three:
Next is pensions: Maximise your contribution amount and tax relief. Take full advantage by utilising the annual allowance, which is Ă‚ÂŁ40,000 (tapered if you earn over Ă‚ÂŁ150,000) or the value of your whole earnings – whichever is lower. Unused annual allowances may also be carried forward from the previous three tax years. We IFAs like pensions even more than ISAs as they’re potentially inheritance tax free too. I know, the fun keeps coming! Don’t forget to plan for next year – one of my favourite clients has a three pot theory (I said I’d pinch it Tim!) so if you get a pay rise or a bonus at the end of the tax year, why not split it three ways – pension (long term), savings/investment accounts (short to medium term), beer and takeaways (term – a few hours!)
Tip four:
If you’ve maxed out your ISA and pension contributions, could you consider an Enterprise Investment Scheme or a Venture Capital Trust? They are more risky than a normal investment but do offer a very attractive 30% tax relief. Time is running out to get these done before the end of the tax year, but an EIS tax relief can be backdated one year so all is not lost.
Tip five:
Give some money away! You can act at any time to help reduce a potential Inheritance Tax bill when you’re no longer around. Make use of the Inheritance Tax annual exemption that allows you to give away £3,000 worth of gifts outside of your estate. If unused, the exemption can be carried forward one year.
Lastly, if you’ve done some or even all of my daily tips, give yourself a gold star and wallow in the warm waters of smugness. At least until 6th April, when the new tax year starts. I’ll have some more tips for you then – I know, I spoil you…
Production
