End of tax year planning? Four key tips

End of year tax planning? Four key tips from Gold Wealth Management

With the cost of living squeeze we need to ensure that our money is working harder and smarter for our family. With the end of tax year looming, Lawrence Gold from Gold Wealth Management, recognisable for his role as financial expert in the award-winning BBC2 programme ‘The Bank of Mum and Dad’ has some key tips on using up personal allowances – these are the big four:

Your £20,000 ISA allowance

This year, the ISA tax-efficient allowance is still £20,000. Top up your ISAs before the end of the tax year on 5 April 2023, or you’ll miss out on this tax-efficient opportunity. Opening a Junior ISA means you can save up to £9,000 tax-free for your children or grandchildren.  It’s a lovely way to get them off to a great start for later down the line.

Your pension allowance

There are maximum amounts that you can save into a pension each tax year, called the ‘annual allowance’ which is up to £40,000, but this can be restricted for those who have accessed their benefits or who are high earners.

You can even use unused allowances from the previous three years if you want to put in more this year. Do note though, you can only personally pay in up to 100% of your earnings in any one year.

Your £3,000 gifting allowance

Using your annual tax-free gifting allowance of £3,000 means that you’re reducing the overall value of your estate when it comes to the final tally for Inheritance Tax or IHT. Plus, it’s back-dateable, so you can carry the allowance over for one tax year, meaning you could give away up to £6,000.

Your Capital Gains Tax allowance

If you are planning to sell investments or assets, the changes to Capital Gains Tax or CGT this year are particularly relevant to you. This is the last year that you’ll be able to claim the full £12,300 CGT allowance which is the amount you can make before you start paying tax. It’ll drop to £6,000 in 2023/24 and then to £3,000 from April 2024.

Be Tax Smart by making the most of those all-important tax allowances well ahead of the tax year-end:

• Making the best use of your tax allowances helps to make your money go further. Many of us have ISAs but there are other possibilities that are sometimes overlooked and left unused.
• Break the last-minute tax habit – check whether you need to top up your ISA or review your mix of cash and stocks and shares. Or put cash into extra pension contributions. It’s worth carving out time now – you’ll feel more organised and you don’t know what else might be on your to-do list by April!
• Get your papers in order. Deadlines can spark a last-minute panicked search for information that you need to make sure your tax return is accurate and complete. If you get into the habit of keeping your paperwork up to date, you’ll make life much easier.
• Use the HMRC app. Simply knowing where all your documentation is, the correct tax codes and other official information, saves you the time and last-minute searching for information at tax year-end. Downloading the HMRC app is a good place to start.

goldwealthmanagement.co.uk

Gold Wealth Management Ltd is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’ Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products.
SJP Approved 27/02/2023