Effective End of Year Tax Planning: What should i consider before the end of this tax year?
The end of the 2019/20 tax year is fast approaching, and there are a number of valuable allowances and reliefs that will be lost if they are not used before the deadline.
These opportunities include, but are not limited to, four important areas of tax planning. We’ve summarised these allowances below and suggest that if appropriate to your particular situation, these areas should be reviewed before 5 April 2020.
- TAKE YOUR ISA CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MAX
The term ‘ISA’ stands for ‘Individual Savings Account’, which allows you to save tax-efficiently into a cash savings or investment account. With a Cash ISA or a Stocks & Shares ISA (or a combination of the two), you can save or invest up to £20,000 a year tax-efficiently. Your ISA allowance doesn’t roll over into a subsequent tax year, so if you don’t use it, you’ll lose out forever.
If you are in a position to, it may make sense for you and your spouse to take advantage of each other’s ISA allowance, particularly if one of you has more financial resources than the other. That way, you can save (in the case of Cash ISAs) or invest (in the case of Stocks & Shares ISAs) up to £40,000 tax- efficiently in the current tax year.
Also, 16 and 17-year-olds actually have two ISA allowances, as they’re able to open a Junior ISA (once they have transferred their Child Trust Fund [CTF] to their Junior ISA and closed the CTF), which for 2019/20 has a limit of £4,368, as well as an adult Cash ISA. This means that you could put away up to £24,368 in your child’s name tax-efficiently this tax year.
People aged 18–39 can open a Lifetime ISA, which entitles them to save up to £4,000 tax-efficiently a year until they’re 50. The Government will top up the savings by 25%, up to a maximum of £1,000 a year. Viewing your and your spouse’sallowances as one will allow you to make the most of these tax advantages.
- MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR PENSION TAX RELIEFS
Now is also the time to check you are taking full advantage of your pension tax reliefs and allowances. Normally, between you and your employer, you can contribute a maximum of £40,000 into your pension in a tax year (this is called your ‘annual allowance’). If you earn less than £40,000 a year, tax relief will only be available on contributions with a gross equivalent equal to your income. However, for high earners with a taxable income of more than £150,000 per year, this is tapered downwards.
If you don’t manage to make full use of your £40,000 pensions annual allowance this tax year, you can carry it forward for up to three years. For example, in the current 2019/20 tax year, you could carry forward unused contributions from 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19, but the clock re-starts on 6 April this year.
- TACKLE THE ONGOING ISSUE OF INHERITANCE TAX
Inheritance Tax (IHT) is usually payable at 40% on the portion of an estate that exceeds the £325,000 nil-rate band (NRB). Like the NRB, the unused percentage of the residence nil-rate band (RNRB) can be transferred between spouses and registered civil partners.
The RNRB is on top of the NRB, allowing individuals to pass on a qualifying residential property to their direct descendants. The maximum RNRB is £150,000 this year, and next year a couple will be able to combine their NRB and RNRB allowances to pass on property worth £1 million free of IHT. The RNRB is reduced by £1 for every £2 that the value of the net estate exceeds £2 million.
You can act at any time to help reduce potential IHT. However, gifting money is an area that is subject to an annual limit, which runs from the start of the tax year, and could be worth adding to your year-end to-do list. Tax exemptions released through gifting should form a key part of IHT planning.
The annual allowance means you can gift up to £3,000 each year, exempt from IHT – so as a couple, you can make £6,000 worth of gifts. It can also be carried forward for one year.
You can give as many gifts of up to £250 to as many people as you like – that is, unless the person has already received a gift equating to the annual £3,000 exemption. Some types of gifts, such as wedding gifts or gifts to help with living costs, can also be given tax-free.
However, another factor to consider is the legislation around IHT, which could be subject to change in the near future. The Office of Tax Simplification is currently undertaking a significant review that could inform forthcoming policy decisions, so this year – before any changes come into force – reviewing your IHT plans, including gifting, should be a priority. This is a complex area with qualifying conditions and requires expert estate planning advice.
- PLAN TO REDUCE A CAPITAL GAINS TAX BILL
Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is a tax on the profits you make when you sell something such as an investment portfolio or a second property. Everyone has an annual allowance of £12,000 (in 2019/20) before CGT applies.
The allowance is for individuals, so couples have a joint allowance for 2019/20 of £24,000. If appropriate to your particular situation, it might be worth considering transferring an asset into your joint names so you both stay within your individual allowances.
Any gains in excess of the allowance are charged to CGT at either 18% (basic-rate taxpayers) or 28% (higher-rate taxpayers), depending on the individual’s other total taxable income in the year the gain arises.
An important thing to remember with this aspect of taxation is that any losses you make on sales can be offset against your capital gains for CGT purposes.
Currently, CGT on the sale of a residential property, other than your main residence, is payable under self-assessment and will not be due until 31 January following the end of the tax year. This will change with effect from 6 April 2020, when payment of CGT from the sale of such a residential property will be required within 30 days of the date of sale/completion.
MAKE SURE YOU DON’T MISS THE DEADLINE TO CLAIM IMPORTANT ALLOWANCES AND RELIEFS
With less than two months remaining in the current 2019/20 tax year, UK-resident individuals should turn their attention to any pre-emptive steps which may be taken by 5 April 2020 in order to optimise their tax position. Personal tax planning can be complex. You should always seek professional advice when undertaking a review to ensure all changes are processed and managed effectively. To discuss your position, please contact us.
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Our approach to financial planning is simple, our clients are our number one priority and we ensure all our advice, strategies and services are tailored to the specific individual to best meet their longer term financial goals and aspirations. We understand that everyone is unique. We understand that wealth means different things to different people and each client will require a different strategy to build wealth, use and enjoy it during their lifetimes and to protect it for family and loved ones in the future.
All of us at Vizion Wealth are committed to our client’s financial success and would like to have an opportunity to review your individual wealth goals. To find out more, get in touch with us – we very much look forward to hearing from you.
DISCLAIMER:
INFORMATION IS BASED ON OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF TAXATION LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS. ANY LEVELS AND BASES, OF AND RELIEFS FROM TAXATION, ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
A PENSION IS A LONG-TERM INVESTMENT.
THE FUND VALUE MAY FLUCTUATE AND CAN GO DOWN, WHICH WOULD HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE LEVEL OF PENSION BENEFITS AVAILABLE.
PENSIONS ARE NOT NORMALLY ACCESSIBLE UNTIL AGE 55. YOUR PENSION INCOME COULD ALSO BE AFFECTED BY INTEREST RATES AT THE TIME YOU TAKE YOUR BENEFITS. THE TAX IMPLICATIONS OF PENSION WITHDRAWALS
WILL BE BASED ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES, TAX LEGISLATION AND REGULATION, WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE IN THE FUTURE.
THE VALUE OF INVESTMENTS AND INCOME FROM THEM MAY GO DOWN. YOU MAY NOT GET BACK THE ORIGINAL AMOUNT INVESTED.
PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT A RELIABLE INDICATOR OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE.
“The information contained in this article is intended solely for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. While every attempt has been made to ensure that the information contained on this article has been obtained from reliable sources, Vizion Wealth is not responsible for any errors or omissions. In no event will Vizion Wealth be liable to the reader or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information provided in this article”.
