Category: Tax

If you have an offshore investment bond issued from Dublin and it’s held in a UK trust, there’s a new rule you need to be aware of. From 5 March 2025, UK trusts holding these Irish bonds must be registered not just with HMRC in the UK, but also on Ireland’s own Central Register of

Have you sold things like shares, rental property or valuable possessions and made a profit? If you sell something for more than you paid, you may need to pay Capital Gains Tax on the profit. The amount of money you can make each year before paying this tax has been reduced a lot recently. This

We have updated our guide to actions that could be taken to minimise taxes here. Key points include: Income Tax: Strategies are suggested to reduce taxable income, such as making pension contributions and redistributing investments between spouses to effectively use personal allowances. Capital Gains Tax: The guide discusses annual exemptions and the importance of timing

We have updated our guide to actions that could be taken to minimise taxes here. For our clients, some of the key ones are making full use of the ISA and Pension allowances. The only thing we would advise against doing now is disturbing invested assets to make use of these allowances. An example of

With tax reliefs and allowances constantly changing, it is essential to ensure that you are taking full advantage of them. High inflation, freezes on allowances and tax bands, and cuts to CGT and dividend allowances mean you could be feeling the pinch more than ever. You can find our complete guide here, but here are

Kwasi Kwarteng, in his new role as chancellor, unveiled his plans for growth, bringing down inflation, backing businesses, and helping households. Although much of its content was already known, it still contained a few surprises. What changes have been made to personal taxation? The mini-budget has delivered a variety of tax cuts, including: Income tax:

HMRC intends to change the rules on transferring assets between spouses and civil partners who are in the process of separating and are no longer living together. What are the current rules? Currently, spouses and civil partners can transfer assets between themselves without any tax ramifications, up to, and including, the year they permanently separate.

Business owners need to make sure their company does not fall foul of Business Property Relief (BPR) rules. Business Property Relief (BPR) is a valuable relief as shares in companies benefiting from it are not subject to Inheritance Tax.  Where companies hold substantial amounts of cash, there is a risk of losing this relief. This

We have updated our guide to actions that could be taken to minimise taxes here. For our clients, some of the key ones are making full use of the ISA and Pension allowances. The only thing we would advise against doing now is disturbing invested assets to make use of these allowances. An example of

We have written previously about how employees exchanging part of their salary and/or bonus for increased pension contributions has become common. We explained how this can be far more attractive than the employee making a direct pension contribution on his/her own behalf. Attractions of salary sacrifice Contributions paid out of an employee’s after-tax pay are

The social care announcement on 7 September 2021 increased both national insurance (NICs) and dividend tax from 2022/23. In addition, the March Budget revised corporation tax rates from 2023/24. The combined effect of these announcements might shift the decision of whether to take a dividend or not from your business. We have looked at some examples to see where these shifts might have taken

We have updated our guide to actions that could be taken to minimise taxes here. For our clients, some of the key ones are making full use of the ISA and Pension allowances. The only thing we would advise against doing now is disturbing invested assets to make use of these allowances. An example of

The Budget announced corporation tax rates will increase from 1 April 2023. The current understanding of the change, as set out in HMRC’s policy paper, is that: The existing 19% rate will continue to apply to companies with profits of up to £50,000, subject to associated companies’ rules (This will not apply to close investment-holding

The budget has come and gone with no major changes to taxation. However, there have been some minor changes or clarifications which can have a long-term impact. Below we have listed some considerations there may be before the end of the tax year. To be clear none of this represents advice and you should get

Last year, Autumn arrived without an Autumn Budget. In fairness, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, had already presented one 2020 Budget. This took place last March, and the pandemic made forecasting for 2021/22 all but impossible. The result was that, for the second year running, the Budget was deferred to the Spring. Whether Mr Sunak’s job

When business owners choose how to take their profits, there is a compelling argument in favour of pension contributions. Dividends may still be the preferred route for most. However, changes in how they are taxed may drive more directors who do not need the income to use employer pension contributions instead. Remember, since April 2018,

In July 2020, the Chancellor asked the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) to review Capital Gains Tax (CGT). The aim was to ‘identify opportunities relating to administrative and technical issues as well as areas where the present rules can distort behaviour or do not meet their policy intent’. The review has attracted strong engagement from

A few significant tax changes have been introduced affecting how residential property is taxed from 6 April 2020. Mortgage interest relief Since 2017/18, higher rate tax relief on mortgage interest has gradually been phased out. It has been replaced by a basic rate tax credit reduction from the taxpayer’s tax bill. With effect from 6

As well as reviewing the operation of capital gains tax (CGT), the Chancellor asked the Office of Tax Simplification to consider “opportunities to simplify the tax”. What changes could emerge and what could this mean for financial planning strategies for our clients? Charging capital gains made by individuals to income tax If you are taxed

We have updated our guide to actions which could be taken to minimise taxes here. For our clients, some of the key ones are making full use of the ISA and Pension allowances. The only thing we would advise against doing now is disturbing invested assets to make use of these allowances. An example of

It is an unbelievable 500 days since the last Budget in October 2018. The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has only been in the job a few weeks and to say the Budget will have represented a challenge for him is a massive understatement. Even more so given current world events. Budget Day started with an announcement

The start of the new year is the time when tax planning comes to the fore in the financial planning calendar. It gives enough time to put anything in place before the end of the tax year on April 5th. But does the General Election on 12th December mean tax planning should take place early?