With tax year end just around the corner, it’s time to check you are making the most of your tax reliefs and allowances to save for a brighter future. You may want to consider:
Investments: take profits using CGT annual allowances
- If you are looking to supplement your income tax-efficiently you could withdraw funds from an investment portfolio and keep the capital gains within your annual exemption.
- Even if cash isn’t needed, taking profits within the £11,700 CGT allowance and re-investing the proceeds means there will be less tax to pay when you ultimately need to access these funds to meet spending plans.
- Proceeds cannot be re-invested in the same mutual funds for at least 30 days, otherwise the expected ‘gain’ will not materialise. But they could be re-invested in a similar fund or through your pension or ISA. Alternatively the proceeds could be immediately re-invested in the same investments, but in the name of your partner.
- If there is tax to pay on gains at the higher 20% rate, a pension contribution could be enough to reduce this rate to the basic rate of 10%.
Key information
- Sale proceeds and cost pool for mutual funds/shares.
- Gains/losses on other assets sold – e.g. second homes.
- Losses carried forward from previous years.
Please be aware that the value of investments and the income derived from them can fall as well as rise and you may not get back what you invest. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax advice.
Summary
Effective tax planning is a year round job. It’s only at the end of the tax year that you have all the pieces to complete the planning jigsaw, but there are steps you can take now to get ahead of the game and give yourself time to put plans in place. And with less than 7 weeks until 6 April, there’s no time like the present to get started.