As 5 April approaches and the tax year ends, it is easy to assume that tax planning is something to deal with later.

Whether you complete a Self Assessment return, have multiple income sources or simply want to avoid paying more tax than necessary, taking time to review your position before the tax year closes can make a real difference.

Here are five key areas to consider before the deadline.

1. Have you used your personal allowances fully?

Everyone is entitled to a personal allowance, but it is not always used efficiently.

If you have multiple income streams, such as employment income, rental income, dividends or savings interest, it is worth checking how these interact. In some cases, income can be structured or timed to ensure allowances are not wasted.

For couples, it may also be worth reviewing whether income can be shared more efficiently, particularly where one person pays tax at a lower rate.

2. Are your savings and investment allowances being maximised?

Many people forget that savings and investments come with their own tax-free allowances.

Depending on your circumstances, you may be entitled to:

• A Personal Savings Allowance
• A dividend allowance
• An ISA allowance

Using these before five April can help reduce future tax bills. Once the tax year ends, unused allowances are lost and cannot be carried forward.

 3. Have you reviewed Capital Gains Tax exposure?

If you are planning to sell assets such as shares, investments or property, timing matters.

Each individual has an annual Capital Gains Tax allowance. Realising gains before five April can allow you to use the current year’s allowance, rather than carrying the full gain into the next tax year.

It may also be possible to spread disposals across tax years or transfer assets between spouses or civil partners to reduce the overall tax charge.

4. Are pension contributions being overlooked?

Pension contributions remain one of the most effective ways to reduce tax.

Contributions made before the end of the tax year can attract tax relief at your highest marginal rate, increasing the value of what you save for the future while lowering your current tax bill.

It is important to ensure contributions stay within annual allowance limits and align with your wider financial plans, but for many people this is an area that is underused.

5. Have you considered your Inheritance Tax position?

While Inheritance Tax is often seen as a longer-term issue, the tax year-end can still be a useful prompt to review your position.

Making use of annual gifting allowances, reviewing larger lifetime gifts or considering whether assets are held in the most appropriate way can all have a meaningful impact over time.

Even small, regular steps taken now can help reduce future exposure and ensure that more of your wealth passes to the people you intend.

Need help preparing for the new tax year?

Tax year-end planning does not need to be complex, but it does need to be timely.

A short review before five April can help you:

• Reduce unnecessary tax
• Avoid missed allowances
• Feel more in control of your finances

If you are unsure whether you are making the most of the current tax year, seeking advice before the deadline can help ensure nothing important is missed.

Recent tax changes signal a clear shift in how business owners, directors and higher earners are taxed.

For a long time, remuneration planning has centred on a familiar mix of salary, dividends and pension contributions to protect take-home pay.

That landscape is now tightening. Several well-established planning routes are being restricted, reflecting a deliberate move by the Government towards what it frames as greater fairness across the tax system.

Fiscal drag continues to do the heavy lifting

Income Tax and National Insurance thresholds remain frozen until 2031. As wages rise, more people are pulled into higher tax bands without any real increase in spending power.

For directors already close to higher or additional rate thresholds, even small pay increases can have a disproportionate impact. Those in the additional rate band may also see further erosion of the personal allowance. The overall effect is a higher effective tax burden and fewer ways to mitigate it.

Dividend tax changes reduce flexibility

Dividends have traditionally offered a tax-efficient way to extract profits. From April 2026, the main dividend rates increase by two per cent:

• The ordinary rate rises from 8.75 per cent to 10.75 per cent
• The upper rate increases from 33.75 per cent to 35.75 per cent
• The additional dividend rate remains at 39.35 per cent.

Dividends still retain an advantage over salary, but the gap is narrowing. This makes it increasingly important for directors to review how profits are drawn and whether the existing balance between salary and dividends still makes sense.

Pension planning and the narrowing window

Pensions continue to play a central role in tax-efficient remuneration. However, from April 2029, tax and National Insurance relief on salary sacrifice pension contributions will be limited to the first £2,000 each year.

While this reduces long-term flexibility for higher earners, it also creates a planning opportunity in the years ahead.

Reviewing contribution levels now, while current rules remain in place, may help soften the impact of wider tax changes, provided this aligns with cashflow and business priorities.

What this means for business owners and directors

The direction of travel is clear. The tax environment is becoming more restrictive and many familiar planning tools are being scaled back.

That does not mean opportunities have disappeared, but it does mean that forward planning is more important than ever.

Understanding how these changes interact, rather than viewing them in isolation, will be key to maintaining resilience and control.

We continue to support clients in reviewing remuneration structures, long-term planning and overall financial strategy in light of the evolving rules.

If you would like to explore how these changes affect your own position, please get in touch.

Electric vehicles have become an increasingly popular choice for people who have access to a company car.

Low tax charges, predictable running costs and environmental benefits have made EVs an appealing option, particularly for directors, employees and business owners who drive a company-provided vehicle.

Over the next few tax years, the rules around electric company cars are changing. There is nothing sudden or drastic, but there are adjustments worth understanding if you already drive an electric company car or are considering one.

EVs remain tax-efficient, but the savings are slowly reducing.

Why electric company cars have been so attractive

Company cars are taxed through Benefit in Kind, which determines how much personal tax you pay for the use of the vehicle.

Electric vehicles have benefited from very low BIK rates, which has meant:

• Lower personal tax bills compared with petrol or diesel cars
• Reduced employer National Insurance costs
• A more affordable way to drive a new or higher-specification vehicle

For many people, EVs have been one of the few company car options that genuinely make financial sense.

What is changing for electric company cars?

The main change is a gradual increase in BIK rates for electric vehicles over the coming years.

Incentives are not being removed overnight. Instead, the tax advantage is being scaled back gradually as electric vehicles become more common.

In practical terms:

• Electric cars will still be taxed more favourably than petrol or diesel models
• The amount of tax you pay will increase slightly year by year
• Planning ahead becomes more important

If you already have an electric company car, the impact is likely to be modest. You may notice:

• A small increase in your personal tax over time
• Slightly higher overall costs linked to the vehicle

Even with these changes, EVs are still expected to be the most tax-efficient company car option available.

Choosing a company car

If you are thinking about changing your company car or joining a scheme for the first time, it is worth looking beyond the headline tax figure for the first year.

Things to consider include:

• How BIK costs will change over the time you expect to keep the car
• Whether leasing or purchasing works better for your situation
• The impact of salary sacrifice, if it is offered
• Running costs such as charging, insurance and maintenance

Electric vehicles remain appealing, but the decision now benefits from a more rounded view.

New road-use charges for EVs from 2028

Looking a little further ahead, drivers of electric vehicles should be aware of new mileage-based charges planned from April 2028.

Current proposals suggest:

• Battery electric vehicles will be charged at around three pence per mile
• Plug-in hybrids at around one point five pence per mile
• These charges will apply alongside existing Vehicle Excise Duty

For someone driving around eight to nine thousand miles a year, this could add roughly £250 to annual motoring costs. While this is still likely to be cheaper than fuel duty on petrol or diesel cars, it is another cost to factor in.

Expensive Car Supplement changes may help

From April 2026, the threshold for the Expensive Car Supplement for electric vehicles will increase from £40,000 to £50,000.

This means many mid-range and higher-spec electric vehicles will avoid the surcharge, making them a more realistic option if you are considering a better-equipped model.

What should you do now?

These changes are about gradual adjustment rather than removing incentives entirely. Electric vehicles continue to offer meaningful tax advantages for many people.

It may be a good time to:

• Review the tax cost of your current company car
• Look at how future BIK increases will affect you
• Revisit your options before committing to a new vehicle
• Seek advice to ensure the numbers still stack up for your circumstances

With the right planning, electric company cars can remain a cost-effective and practical choice. Speak to our team for advice on choosing the most tax-efficient vehicle.

HMRC is pressing ahead with plans to make digital communication the norm, with most paper correspondence set to be phased out from spring 2026.

The move is part of a broader effort to modernise how HMRC interacts with taxpayers, streamline internal processes and reduce costs, with savings of around fifty million pounds a year anticipated.

Over time, the expectation is that the majority of routine contact between taxpayers and HMRC will take place online or through the HMRC app.

What will change in practice?

From 2026, taxpayers who already use HMRC’s online services or mobile app will no longer routinely receive letters through the post.

Instead, they will be sent an email or notification prompting them to log in to their personal tax account to view new messages or documents.

Paper correspondence will not disappear altogether. Taxpayers who opt out of digital communications or who are classed as digitally excluded, will still be able to receive letters in the traditional way.

HMRC has stressed that choice will remain, but for anyone already engaged digitally, electronic contact will become the default.

To support this shift, new powers expected to be introduced through the latest Finance Bill will allow HMRC to request digital contact details, such as an email address or mobile number, at key points including annual submissions.

This is intended to ensure HMRC can issue alerts consistently across different tax services.

A gradual transition rather than an overnight change

The move to digital communication will not happen all at once. HMRC systems are being updated in stages and some areas are not yet fully capable of operating online.

Inheritance Tax is one example where paper forms and correspondence remain essential for now.

HMRC has also acknowledged that improvements are still needed to ensure digital guidance and messaging are as clear and user-friendly as traditional letters.

Security is another key focus, particularly following last year’s incident involving personal tax accounts.

Importantly, HMRC has confirmed that paper-based support will continue for those who cannot access digital services, including older taxpayers and individuals with disabilities.

What does this mean for taxpayers?

For most people already using online services, the biggest change from 2026 onwards will simply be fewer brown envelopes arriving through the letterbox.

Instead, communication will be driven by email prompts and app notifications directing taxpayers to their online account.

While this may feel like a small operational change, it does place greater responsibility on taxpayers to regularly check their HMRC account and keep their contact details up to date.

If you would like help understanding how these changes may affect you or need support transitioning to HMRC’s digital services, please get in touch.

A series of tax reforms announced by the Government will reshape the property landscape over the coming years.

While the stated aim is to strengthen public finances and support long-term economic stability, the changes will have real and immediate consequences for landlords, developers and residential property investors.

Against a backdrop of flat house prices and cautious buyers, understanding how these reforms affect investment decisions, affordability and returns has never been more important.

A new annual charge on higher-value homes

One of the most eye-catching announcements is the introduction of a new annual surcharge on higher-value residential properties, commonly referred to as the “mansion tax”.

Under the new rules, annual charges will apply as follows:

• £2,500 for properties valued above £2 million
• £7,500 for properties valued above £5 million

This marks a shift away from one-off transactional taxes towards ongoing annual liabilities tied to ownership.

The likely impact is a softening of demand in the prime residential market, particularly in London and the South East, as buyers reassess affordability and long-term ownership costs.

Developers operating in the high-value space may experience slower sales rates and may need to review pricing strategies to avoid pushing units over the surcharge thresholds.

Conversely, properties in the £1 million to £2 million range could see increased demand from buyers keen to remain below the levy, potentially reshaping buyer behaviour in this bracket.

Higher taxes on property and investment income

The Government has also confirmed a two per cent increase in tax rates applied to property income, dividend income and savings income across all bands.

For landlords, this represents a further squeeze on net rental yields at a time when mortgage costs, maintenance expenses and regulatory compliance costs are already elevated. Many individual landlords may find that certain properties no longer deliver viable returns.

As a result, some investors may consider:

• Incorporating their property portfolios
• Selling underperforming assets
• Restructuring ownership to improve tax efficiency

Developers may also see reduced appetite from individual buy-to-let investors, with increased interest in build-to-rent models that can offer more efficient structures and long-term scale.

The impact of frozen Income Tax and National Insurance thresholds

The extension of the freeze on Income Tax and National Insurance thresholds until 2030/2031 is expected to have one of the most significant knock-on effects on the housing market.

As wages rise without corresponding threshold increases, fiscal drag will pull more people into higher tax bands, reducing real disposable income.

This is likely to affect:

• Housing affordability, making it harder for buyers to save for deposits
• Mortgage approvals, as affordability assessments tighten
• Demand in the prime and upper-mid markets, where higher earners face reduced take-home pay
• Rental demand, as more households delay purchasing and remain in the private rental sector

While increased rental demand may appear positive for landlords, it does not necessarily offset the impact of higher taxation and operating costs.

What this means for developers and residential investors

These reforms signal a need for reassessment across the property sector.

Developers and investors should expect longer sales and letting timelines as buyers and tenants become more cautious.

Pricing strategies will need to be carefully managed, particularly to avoid properties sitting empty due to affordability pressures or being inadvertently pushed above surcharge thresholds.

It is also essential to review how property assets are held. The right ownership structure can make a significant difference to long-term tax exposure and flexibility.

For some, this may prompt a shift towards alternative models such as build-to-rent or mixed-use developments, which may offer more resilience under the new rules.

Preparing for a changing property landscape

While the scale of reform may feel daunting, early planning can make a meaningful difference.

Understanding how the changes interact, rather than viewing them in isolation, allows landlords and investors to make informed decisions about acquisitions, disposals and restructuring.

Professional advice can help you assess whether your property portfolio remains fit for purpose and identify opportunities to adapt in an evolving market.

If you would like support reviewing your property position or planning for the changes ahead, our expert team is here to help.

Historically, saving into a pension has been seen as a smart investment strategy to reduce your tax liabilities.

Due to pensions being exempt from Inheritance Tax (IHT), they were seen as a viable way of ensuring that you or your family could benefit from them with little risk of being taxed.

In many instances, people would forgo pay rises and instead opt for bigger pension contributions that they could make use of later in life.

However, IHT is changing, and from April 2027, unspent pension pots will be considered part of your estate for IHT.

As this may confuse your tax planning, we are going to examine the impact of these changes and consider what you can do about it.

Why am I now at risk of Inheritance Tax?

The IHT threshold (known as the nil-rate band) is £325,000 per individual, but the threshold increases to £500,000 if you leave your home to a direct descendant, thanks to the additional £175,000 residence nil-rate band.

This allowance can be passed on to your spouse to create a potential £1,000,000 threshold before IHT is paid at a rate of 40 per cent on the estate.

Given that your property is likely to make up a sizeable portion of your wealth, and your assets may also be substantial, the addition of an unspent pension pot could tip your estate over the edge.

This will be especially true if you have been using your pension pot to reap greater financial reward from working while keeping your tax bill low, thanks to the tax benefits of saving into a pension fund from your regular income.

Does this mean I shouldn’t save for a pension?

A pension is still likely to serve as a decent wrapper for paying reduced tax on your earnings compared to receiving funds as a salary.

However, it impacts the considerations you must make regarding your estate as you approach the end of your life.

While your pension might be challenging to move, other assets could be offset as gifts, provided these are given seven years prior to your death.

Any gifts given seven years prior to your death are not considered for IHT, whereas those given closer to your death will be.

Valuing your assets and prioritising gifting the ones with higher value could be a smart way to reduce your overall estate and thus reduce your risk of IHT.

What is the best strategy going forward?

It is worth remembering that these changes do not come into force until April 2027.

Even then, there is little guarantee of what the future might hold and how rules and regulations might change going forward.

Successive Governments may redefine an estate in terms of IHT, so nothing is ever truly set in stone.

What is important is that you get ahead of the changes by considering smart tax planning as soon as possible.

Seeking advice from a trusted professional is the best way to stay ahead of the changes and ensure that your retirement strategy is kept up to date with evolving tax rules.

If you are concerned about how this change to the IHT rules may affect your retirement planning and estate, speak to our team today.

The beginning of the new tax year is a great opportunity to ensure that you are making the most of tax-efficient investments.

In the 2024 to 2025 tax year, it was estimated that £41.2 billion of tax breaks existed for smart investors to utilise.

As this figure was seven per cent higher than the previous year, it is worth unpacking how it came about and considering what benefits may exist in this new tax year.

Individual Saving Accounts

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) were a large part of the tax relief that exists for those who are smart with their money.

Knowing how to effectively utilise ISAs means that you can get the most out of your money.

You can invest £20,000 a year in an ISA without it falling into consideration of tax.

If you were to utilise this and invest before 5 April, you can enjoy the benefit of a full tax year with your tax-free growth that can then be utilised either later in the year or in the future as you require it.

Do not forget to invest more at the start of the next year to further optimise the utility of your ISA.

Pension contributions

While pensions may soon become more challenging given the changes to Inheritance Tax, smartly investing in pensions is still an effective way to offset Income Tax and prepare for the future.

Whether by using a salary sacrifice pension scheme or saving into a self-invested personal pension (SIPP), you can prevent yourself from entering higher Income Tax brackets and move the finances into your pension pot instead.

As the access to your pension is still not as culpable for tax as a salary, this remains a smart investment strategy.

Be mindful that your unspent pension pot will be considered part of your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes as of April 2027, exposing your entire inheritance to taxation.

Changes to Capital Gains Tax

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) underwent notable changes to reduce its tax efficiency.

Where once the tax-free threshold was £6,000, it was reduced to £3,000.

While disappointing for those seeking it as a viable way to offset tax payments, the fact remains that some relief is better than none.

Combining CGT relief with other forms of smart investment can be a vital part of a tax-efficient investment strategy.

Venture capital schemes

If you have the capacity, Venture Capital Schemes (VCTs) can be an extremely tax-efficient way to invest.

VCTs offer 30 per cent Income Tax relief on invested amounts up to £200,000, and these can also yield tax-free dividends with the added benefit of there being no CGT on gains.

If your investment budget stretches to it, an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) offers 30 per cent relief on investments up to £1 million.

These can be combined with other forms of relief to provide a network of tax-efficient investment options.

Ultimately, knowing what options are available to you can ensure that your investments remain as tax efficient as possible.

Seeking professional advice is always wise, given the ever-changing economic landscape.

If you want to maximise your money, speak to our team today.

Your hard work deserves to pay off, but after a while, the harder you work and the more you earn, the more you end up paying in tax.

In those situations, it could be worth considering some salary sacrifice options to ensure that you reap the full benefit of the work you do and minimise tax liabilities.

Alongside offsetting Income Tax, salary sacrifice sees you making smaller National Insurance contributions and thus, potentially, having a greater ability to use the money you have earned for your benefit.

What salary sacrifice options are there?

By far the most common form of salary sacrifice comes in the form of pension savings.

Rather than see your wage steadily increase, and thus your Income Tax and National Insurance payments increase too, there is an option to cap your salary and put the extra value into your pension plan.

This money will not be subject to National Insurance considerations and therefore will be of more value than if it were paid to you directly.

The drawbacks of this method are the length of time you must wait before you can access these funds.

If you are planning to retire early or have exciting plans for your twilight years, then this could be a viable investment in the long run.

Professional development

Although this is not universally applicable, some employer-funded training courses can qualify as a salary sacrifice.

These courses would serve to reduce your taxable income while also equipping you with the skills needed to keep growing professionally.

If retirement seems too far off to invest more income into a pension pot, then utilising professional development could be the route to take.

The course will need to be approved by HM Revenue and Customs for this purpose, so be mindful of this caveat before signing up for training courses.

Workplace benefits

Although it is not currently open to new applicants, a childcare voucher scheme did once exist and may return at some point in the future.

Until then, there are schemes to provide employees with bikes or electric vehicles that can qualify as a form of salary sacrifice.

Given that these tend to be valuable commodities, they are certainly avenues to explore, particularly if you are environmentally conscious.

There are always options available to those who want to be smart with their money, and seeking professional advice can aid in this endeavour.

Want to learn how you can make more from your work with the right salary sacrifice scheme? Speak to our team today.

As is customary for a new tax year, there have been sweeping changes to how the Government handles the reporting and recording of financial information.

This has involved the change to some proposals that have been set for implementation, as well as the introduction of some other measures.

We are examining two of the most notable changes that are likely to impact you in this coming tax year.

Employee hours reporting scrapped

The Government has abandoned its proposal to require the reporting of actual hours worked by employees through payroll.

Originally delayed to April 2026, the plan has now been dropped entirely due to concerns over the implementation cost, which was estimated at nearly £60 million.

This will come as a relief to those who were concerned about the increase in admin time that such a proposition would bring with it.

Monitoring and implementing compliant payroll techniques is already a challenge for many businesses, so it is good that the extra information is no longer being forced upon hard-working business owners.

Business owners are instead being left to manage their payroll information in much the same way as before, but payroll compliance checks are subject to change and seeking professional advice and support is a valuable way to stay ahead of any changes.

Compulsory questions are coming

The question about whether a taxpayer is a director of a close company will also become mandatory on the Self-Assessment return from 2025/26.

As a director, you will need to be prepared with accurate figures, particularly where shareholdings change during the year or where different share classes are involved.

These changes are an indication of a move towards increased transparency and more detailed individual reporting.

This is part of a wider movement by the Government to clamp down on noncompliance and fraud by ensuring that all financial information is consistent and accurate.

To stay ahead of these changes, keeping up-to-date records will be essential, as you do not wish to risk noncompliance.

What does this mean for the future?

Here we have examined a failed proposal and an implemented one to gauge where the Government’s priorities are.

With the global economy struggling, the Government need to ensure that they remain capable of meeting the needs of the country, and they have elected to clamp down on bad actors to facilitate this.

What it is likely to mean for honest businesses is more admin work and a greater need to stay abreast of changes as and when they happen.

Contact our team today to ensure that you remain compliant with the latest tax reporting requirements.

From 6 April 2025, many directors will need to report dividend income in much more detail in their Self-Assessment tax return.

This change will affect an estimated 900,000 directors across the UK.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will now require directors to disclose the name and registration number of the company, the highest percentage shareholding held during the tax year, and the amount of dividend income received from that company.

These figures must be listed separately from dividends received from other sources.

At present, directors simply report total dividend income.

HMRC has no visibility of how much comes from their own business versus other investments.

This change will allow HMRC to build a clearer picture of remuneration and target compliance activity more effectively.

How will these changes affect me?

As with many of the changes that are currently being introduced, the goal is to ensure that businesses remain compliant.

You may find yourself at risk of noncompliance if you fail to update how you process information considering these changes.

The most effective way to stay ahead of the new dividend reporting is by updating any payroll or accounting software you currently employ.

If you have not yet taken the leap to utilise technology to get greater control of your finances, now might be the time to do so.

If you use in-house finance teams, make sure they are equipped and ready to implement the changes and that they are educated in ways to advise you of how to proceed with Self-Assessment returns.

For those seeking professional advice, it is wise to do this sooner rather than later.

As the tax year progresses, advisors are likely to become overrun with concerned directors seeking advice at the last minute.

You did not build your business by leaving everything to the last minute, and your tax considerations are no different.

Seek professional advice early to ensure that you can effectively plan for the changes and preserve the operationality of your business.

HMRC are attempting to make the system more transparent and gain greater protection against those with bad intentions.

Need help preparing your self-assessment tax return to account for these changes? Speak to our team today.