As another tax year end approaches, it’s important to finalise your 2021/22 tax planning to reduce your obligations wherever possible. The current tax year started on 6 April 2021 and ends on 5 April 2022. Reviewing your tax affairs now will enable you to make the most of any allowable deductions and strategies available to minimise or mitigate a potential tax burden.
After another unprecedented year of the continued COVID-19 pandemic and an uncertain economy, it’s important to keep up with any tax changes that could affect your tax position in the future. Taking action now before 5 April could potentially save you thousands of pounds.
The UK tax system is notoriously complex, but the benefits of structuring our finances tax efficiently can be significant. We’ve provided a summary and some key tax and financial planning areas that may be appropriate to certain taxpayers. These should be considered prior to the end of the tax year on Tuesday 5 April 2022.
Identifying any tax planning opportunities
Personal circumstances differ, so if you have any questions or if there is a particular area you are concerned about, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you have not done so already, take the time to carry out a review of your tax and financial affairs to identify any tax planning opportunities
and take action before it’s too late.
Tips to help you get ahead on managing your tax affairs
Check your PAYE tax code
It’s important to check your tax code. Your tax code is based on the amount of tax you should be paying and the amount you can earn before tax applies. The tax code is the identifier that tells your employer how much tax should be deducted from your salary each time you get paid. If you have multiple employers or pension providers, you may get more than one tax code. If you’re on the wrong one, you could be paying HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) more than you ought to be. On the other hand, you risk getting penalised if you’re paying too little.
Transfer part of your personal allowance
Married couples and registered civil partners are permitted to share 10% of their personal allowance between them. The unused allowance of one partner can be used by the other, meaning an overall combined tax saving. The amount you can transfer is £1,260 for 2021/22 and a transfer is not permitted if the recipient partner pays tax at a rate higher than the basic rate of 20% (higher than the intermediate rate of 21% for Scottish taxpayers).
Contribute up to £9,000 into your child’s Junior ISA
The fund builds up free of tax on investment income and capital gains until your child reaches age 18. At this stage, the funds can either be withdrawn or rolled over into an adult ISA. Relatives and friends can also contribute to your child’s Junior ISA, as long as the £9,000 limit for 2021/22 is not breached.
Tax-free savings and dividend allowances
For 2021/22, savings income of up to £1,000 is exempt for basic rate taxpayers, with a £500 exemption for higher rate taxpayers. The tax-free dividend allowance is £2,000 for all taxpayers. Married couples and registered civil partners could save tax by ensuring that each person has enough of the right type of income to make use of these tax-free allowances.
Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)
You can put the entire amount into a Cash ISA, a Stocks & Shares ISA, an Innovative Finance ISA or any combination of the three. Usually when you invest, you have to pay tax on any income or capital gains you earn from your investments. But with an ISA, all capital gains and income made from your investments won’t be taxed. This is provided you stick to the rules on how much you can pay in. Every tax year you have an ISA allowance, which is currently £20,000 for the 2021/22 tax year.
Lifetime ISAs (LISAs)
You must be aged between 18 and 40 to open a Lifetime ISA. The Government will provide a 25% bonus on the money you invest, up to a maximum of £1,000 per year. You can save up to £4,000 a year, and can continue to pay into it until you reach age 50. Could you be taking advantage of this very tax-efficient savings option?
Utilise any capital losses
If you realise capital gains and losses in the same tax year, the losses are offset against the gains before the capital gains tax exempt amount (£12,300 in 2021/22) is deducted. Capital losses will be wasted if gains would otherwise be covered by your exempt amount. Consider postponing a sale that will generate a loss until the following tax year. Alternatively, realise more gains in the current year.
Maximise pension contributions
Pension contributions can reduce your tax liability by increasing the tax thresholds. The annual allowance for 2021/22 is £40,000. To avoid an annual allowance tax charge, the pension contributions made by yourself, and by your employer on your behalf, must be covered by your available annual allowance.
If you haven’t used all your allowance in the last three tax years, it might be possible to pay more into your pension plan. by ‘carrying forward’ whatever allowance is left to make the most of the tax relief on offer. Though bear in mind the amount is still capped at 100% of your earnings. However, different rules apply if you’ve already started to take money out of your pension plan and you’re affected by the Money Purchase Annual Allowance. Additionally, if your income when added to your employer’s payments are more than £240,000 different rules would also apply.
The lifetime allowance is the limit on how much you can build up in pension benefits over your lifetime while still enjoying the full tax benefits. If you go over the allowance, you’ll generally pay a tax charge on the excess at certain times. The lifetime allowance for most people is £1,073,100 in the tax year 2021/22 and has been frozen at this level until the 2025/26 tax year. The allowance applies to the total of all the pensions you have. Including the value of pensions you have through: any defined benefit (final salary or career average) schemes you belong to; any savings you have in defined contribution pensions, but excluding your State Pension.
Pay pension contributions to save NICs
If you pay pension contributions out of your salary, both you and your employer have to pay National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on that salary. When your employer pays a contribution directly into your pension scheme, the employer receives tax relief for the contribution and there are no NICs to pay. A saving for both you and your employer.
You could arrange with your employer to cover the cost of the contributions by foregoing part of your salary or bonus. You must agree in writing to adjust your salary before the revised pension contributions are paid for this arrangement to be tax-effective. Although pension contributions are not caught by the clampdown on salary sacrifice arrangements.
Make a Will/Review existing Wills
If you die without making a Will, your assets will be divided between your relatives according to the intestacy rules. Your surviving spouse or registered civil partner may only receive a portion of your estate. Additionally, Inheritance Tax (IHT) will be due at 40% on anything else above £325,000 (up to £500,000 if the Residence Nil-Rate Band is available).
Leave some of your estate to charity
Where you leave at least 10% of your net estate to charities, the Inheritance Tax on the remainder is charged at 36% instead of 40%. The exact calculation of your net estate is quite complicated. So it’s important to receive professional advice when drawing up or amending your Will.
Make regular IHT-free gifts
As long as you establish a pattern of gifts that can be shown to be covered by your net income, without reducing either your capital assets or your normal standard of living, these gifts will be free of Inheritance Tax. The recipients of the gifts need not be the same people each year.
Use the IHT marriage exemption
If your son or daughter is about to marry, you and your spouse can each give them £5,000 in consideration of the marriage. This type of gift will be free of Inheritance Tax. The marriage exemption can also be combined with your £3,000 a year Inheritance Tax exemption. This allow you to make larger exempt gifts. You can make an Inheritance Tax-free gift of £2,500 for a grandchild’s wedding. Registered civil partnerships attract the same exemptions.
Make IHT-free gifts each tax year
These gifts are free of Inheritance Tax. If you forget to make your £3,000 gift one year, you can catch up in the next tax year by giving a total of £6,000. However, you can only carry forward the £3,000 allowance for one tax year. Remember, you and your spouse or registered civil partner can each give £3,000 out of your capital every tax year. This is in addition to gifts you make out of your regular income.
Looking for tax planning advice?
Few of us can claim to be experts in everything, which is why it’s important to enlist the help of a financial professional. Especially when it’s about something as important as our tax. Don’t delay, please contact us if you require further information.
For more information or to discuss any of the issues raised in this article, please contact your adviser, or call us directly on 0161 819 1131. Further information can also be found at gov.uk.
Personal circumstances differ and not all of this information is applicable to every client and/or their business, this information is general in nature and should not be relied upon without seeking specific professional financial advice.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not regulate tax advice, estate planning, trusts or will writing.
The content in this article is for your general information and use only and is not intended to address your particular requirements. Articles should not be relied upon in their entirety and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute, advice.
Although endeavours have been made to provide accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. No individual or company should act upon such information without receiving appropriate professional advice after a thorough examination of their particular situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of any articles.
Thresholds, percentage rates and tax legislation may change in subsequent finance acts. Levels and bases of, and reliefs from, taxation are subject to change and their value depends on the individual circumstances of the investor. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
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