Tax

03Apr

Pension tax relief changes – what does it mean for you?

The annual allowance for tax-privileged pension saving was reduced from £255,000 to £50,000 in the 2011/12 tax year. Now the lifetime allowance on money that can be accrued in a pension fund and still receive tax relief, for tax years 2012-13 onwards, will be reduced and is set to fall from £1.8 million to £1.5 million from April 2012.

Posted in Tax

09Mar

Ten Top Tax Saving Tips

As I’m writing this, the end of the tax year is 34 days away. By the time you read it, the deadline will be a lot closer. Nobody likes paying tax, so it makes sense to do whatever you can to minimise the amount of tax that you pay and take advantage of all the allowances that are available to you. Remember, most allowances apply to one particular tax year – and once it has ended the allowances are lost. That’s why Thursday April 5th is such an important day.

Posted in Tax

20Mar

Guarding against Inheritance Tax biting into your estate

It is never too early to start planning where Inheritance Tax (IHT) is concerned. At the very least, you should keep a watching brief on the value of assets that could be part of your estate, particularly in relation to the inheritance tax nil-rate band. This has not changed since 2009 and whilst it is set to remain at its current value of £325,000 until 2014-2015, the value of your assets, in the meanwhile, could rise above the nil-rate level.

Posted in Tax

15Jun

Businesses and pension tax relief

It may not always be clear that the structure of a business can affect how employer pension contributions are tax relieved. But it’s important to understand these issues because employers are offered valuable tax incentives to encourage them to make pension contributions on behalf of their employees. Apart from the obvious benefit of helping employees build retirement funds, employer contributions should help to aid staff recruitment, retain staff and foster employee loyalty.

Posted in Tax, Retirement Planning