Steal a March on April by Daniel Wood, 7IM
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t’s a new year. It’s a new me. Or so I tell myself at the start of every year. As soon as Christmas is over and done with, I set out my new year’s resolutions. These, like most people, are fairly generic – take more exercise, visit a new country, spend more time with family and friends. Oh, and have more financial discipline. Taking care of your finances can be as divisive as Marmite – most people hate financial admin and paperwork and only a handful absolutely relish it. But there’s no doubt that those all-important tasks usually become the things we put off and kick down the road. However, one of things you should avoid putting off is the opportunity to take advantage of the many tax reliefs, allowances and exemptions that are available before the end of the tax year which falls on 5 April.
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This is certainly not a comprehensive list of all the considerations you should be looking into. But if you’ve covered all these areas, you’ll certainly be well ahead of the curve. And hopefully somewhat better off, too. Individual Savings Account (ISA) Any savings growth or investment return made within an ISA wrapper is free of both income tax and capital gains tax (CGT). Every adult has a £20,000 ISA allowance for the 2019/20 tax year, but any unused allowance unfortunately cannot be rolled over to the 2020/21 tax year. An ISA is an effective solution if you are looking for a taxefficient savings vehicle for the short, medium or longer term. ISAs can help to build a tax-free income in later life, or for gifting to those you want to benefit. If you’ve used up your ISA allowance, you could consider funding your spouse’s ISA, or putting money into your children or grandchildren’s ISAs. The Junior ISA (JISA) can be used to save up to £4,368 during the 2019/20 tax year.
