1. Time to review your bank accounts?
Many people have large sums of cash on deposit in ordinary accounts paying very little interest.
2.Time to remortgage?
It is amazing how many people are still on standard variable rate mortgages, and have yet to take advantage of improved offers available in the market for fixed or discounted terms. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. There may be a fee for mortgage advice. The precise amount will be dependant upon your circumstances.
3. Will you keep it in the family?
Inheritance tax rules allow each person to give away £3,000 per year and this exemption can be carried forward one year - so if you did not make gifts during 2004/05, you can give away £6,000. For a married couple that could mean gifting a total of £12,000 to their children immediately. Apart from the yearly exemption, you can also give £5,000 from each parent in consideration of marriage and grandparents or direct ancestors can give £2,500 each. Gifts over these levels to individuals or life interest settlements will not be taxable immediately and are exempt providing you live for seven years after making the gift.
4. Is your cash in a tax-efficient wrapper?
If appropriate, you could invest your money in an ISA before 5 April. You can invest up to £7,000 this fianncial year in stocks, shares and unit trust funds, with up to £3,000 in cash. Alternatively, you could invest £3,000 in a cash mini-ISA. Longer-term investments can be tax-efficient. There are many tax incentives to invest for the longer term, normally five years or more, so consider building them into your savings plan.
5. Are you paying tax at the lowest rate on investment income?
If your spouse pays tax at a different rate from you, you could consider transferring income-producing assets between you to give the income to the person paying at the lower rate.
6. Are you getting maximum tax relief?
A payment into a personal pension, if you qualify before 5 April 2006, will give tax relief against your earnings in the current year. Paying pension contributions within HM Revenue & Customs limits can give you tax relief at your maximum invome tax rate of up to 40 per cent.
7. Are you paying into pensions for your family?
The introduction of stakeholder pensions allow contributions to be make for all UK residents, even children, as there is no requirement to have any earnings. Have you considered making payments of up to £3,600 for members of your family? The fund will grow in a tax-efficient environment and the net cost is only £2,808.
8. Have you taken advantage of your tax exemptions?
Everyone has yearly capital gains exemption. In the current year (2005/06) this is £8,500 and gains up to this figure can be made without tax. You could therefore consider realising gains from investments up to this figure. Gifts between spouses are tax-free, so you could double the yearly exemptions available by giving shares or other investments to your husband or wife.
9. Have you realised losses?
If you own shares standing at a loss, you could consider selling them now so that you can set the loss against any gains you have made that take you over the annual gains exemption. If you wish to retain the investments, it could be bought back by your spouse or partner, within an ISA or an existing PEP. Buying it back yourself will not be tax effective unless you wait over 30 days before doing so.
We have only provided nine potential tax saving tips and would always recommend that a bespoke approach should be taken to fully mitigate a potential liability. As each of our client's situations is different, if you would like to review your position, please e-mail or contact us.
Levels and bases of, and reliefs from, taxation are subject to change. The Financial Services Authority does not regulate tax planning.
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