By Mel Hackney

With the tax year end fast approaching, it’s time to ensure that your tax adviser is working with you to mitigate your liability as far as possible.

There are some very simple tax planning opportunities which can be quickly and easily implemented to make savings.

Firstly, have you and your spouse/civil partner made full use of your personal allowance? This is the tax-free amount of income to which each individual is entitled every tax year. If the income of one of you is low and the relevant criteria are met, it is possible to transfer £1,190 (for 2018/19) of the personal allowance to your other half.

It’s also worth considering that you get a dividend allowance of £2,000 per tax year, so if you have the opportunity to receive any dividends split over more than one year this can be beneficial.

Pension contributions and gift aid are also a fantastic way of making tax savings, and if you are considering donating to a charity or a contribution to your pension scheme, it is worth considering whether you can do this before 5 April 2019 in order to get the tax relief sooner rather than later.

For larger tax liabilities, you may want to consider tax efficient investments, such as Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS), Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes (SEIS). It’s also worth considering that investment returns from Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) are not subject to income or capital gains tax. So make sure you are using your ISA allowances before 5 April!

For capital gains, the timing of when they crystallise is important; if disposals can legitimately be spread over more than one tax year, this could save considerable capital gains tax.

For inheritance tax purposes, a £3,000 annual exemption is available each tax year where by an individual can make a gift without any IHT implications. If you didn’t use your annual exemption last year, that can be used too – but only in the following year.

If you might benefit from some help with your tax planning, please do not hesitate to contact Mel Hackney or Steve Wiltshire. We’d be happy to discuss this with you!