With a new year ahead, now is a good time to start planning for the tax year end on 5 April.

Although many tax allowances have been frozen, such as the personal allowance and most income tax thresholds, there are still areas to consider, such as:•  Pension contributions – the tax limits for pension contributions were eased at the start of the current tax year. You may now be able to make contributions for the first time in some years. But take care ­– the rules will be changing yet again from 6 April 2024.

•  Capital gains tax (CGT) – now is the time to review your investments and consider whether to realise gains up to your annual exemption. This is particularly important in 2023/24 as the exemption of £6,000 will fall to £3,000 in the next tax year.

•  Individual savings account (ISA) contributions – the annual ISA allowance is £20,000 (£9,000 for Junior ISAs), which cannot be carried forward. With the personal savings allowance frozen and the dividend allowance and CGT exemption both halving in 2024/25, the case for maximising ISAs should be considered.

•  Inheritance tax – use your annual exemption (£3,000 per tax year) for 2023/24. If you have unused exemption from 2022/23, you can also gift this but only after you have used the current year’s exemption.

•  Marriage allowances – if you or your spouse/civil partner had income of less than the personal allowance in 2018/19 (£11,850), then you have until 5 April 2024 to claim the marriage allowance for that year (£1,190). A claim can only be made if the other partner was a basic rate taxpayer in that tax year. The same principle applies for 2019/20 onwards.

•  Income planning – frozen allowances and tax thresholds mean you could move from being a basic rate taxpayer now to a higher rate taxpayer in 2024/25.
Please speak to a tax adviser before taking any action relating to your tax planning.  We can help you make the right decisions for your situation – contact us now.