Get ready for tax year end 2018-19
The tax year end provides a great opportunity for you to review your clients' portfolios and make sure they're making the most of the tax-efficient investment options available to them. Below you'll find lots of information on the key opportunities surrounding tax year end, including factsheets and information on Isas, pensions and other tax-efficient investments.
D is for deadlines
In the run up to the end of the tax year there are a number of key dates and deadlines that you need to be aware of to make sure you've left enough time to order and settle trades, post applications and for Nucleus to process your requests.
Are you a Nucleus user?
Check out our practical tools and support on the tax year end support tab on the platform to help your team get ready for 5 April and beyond. On the platform you'll find useful resources including dates and deadlines, application and document guidance, how-to videos and templates.
Pensions
Tax year end provides an excellent opportunity to make sure clients are maximising available pension allowances. Clients can benefit from tax relief on pension contributions for up to 100% of their annual salary, to a maximum of up to £40,000 (lower if they are a higher earner or already taking drawdown income). They can also carry forward unused annual allowances from previous years, not to mention the opportunities around maximising the lifetime allowance (LTA).
Isa and Jisa
Where possible, your clients should use their annual Isa subscription limit of £20,000 for the 2018-19 tax year. Jisa also carries a subscription limit for this tax year of £4,260 which is another opportunity for clients to maximise tax allowances while investing in their childrens' or grandchildrens' futures. Our factsheet includes information on subscription limits and deadlines.
Other tax-efficient investments
Once pension and Isa allowances are taken care of, there are other tax-efficient investment opportunities you can consider when reviewing client portfolios in the run up to the tax year end. These include maximising personal income allowances, considering charitable gifts, investment bonds and venture capital trusts, depending on client circumstances.
Pensions and the tax year end
There are lots of things to consider when helping a client maximise their tax year end pension allowances. Here’s a checklist to help you when you’re reviewing pensions and the tax year end for your clients, and you can download our factsheet below to find out more.
The current pensions annual allowance is £40,000 and there will be no changes to this for the next tax year. The tapered annual allowance and the money purchase annual allowance also remain the same.
The lifetime allowance for the financial year 2018-19 is £1,030,000 and this will increase to £1,055,000 in 2019-20.
Higher earners (those earning over £150,000) need to consider the effect of the tapered annual allowance, which gradually reduces the amount that can be contributed to pension to a minimum of £10,000.
It may be possible to carry forward any unused annual allowance from previous tax years if pension contributions are higher than the client's annual allowance.
Individuals can pay pension contributions into others' pension plans, non-taxpayers etc. Non-taxpayers will receive 20% tax relief on any contributions (if paid into a penion scheme operating relief-at-source).
The Scottish Government has introduced new tiers and rates of income tax for Scottish residents. This may have an impact on their savings and investment decisions.
Download the tax year end pensions factsheets
I is for…
Isa – use it or lose it
The annual subscription limit for the 2018-19 tax year end is £20,000. Clients have until 5 April to use it or lose it. This subscription limit will remain the same for 2019-20, so a couple maximising their respective Isa subscription limits can invest up to £80,000 between them across the 2018-19 and 2019-20 tax years. There's a huge opportunity to support clients in maximising the allowances available to them in relation to Isas.
J is for…
Jisa – intergenerational financial planning
The inter-generational transfer of wealth will be a huge opportunity for the advice professional over the next decade and beyond. Jisa is a tax-efficient medium-to-long-term investment solution, which can be withdrawn or transferred to an adult Isa once they turn 18 years old.
Download the tax year end Isa and Jisa factsheets
Other tax-efficient investment considerations
Income tax allowances
Clients should maximise use of their
.
Charitable donations
Individuals can get tax relief on donations to charities through the Gift Aid scheme. Higher and additonal rate taxpayers can extend their basic rate band by £100 for every £80 donated. Alternatively, employees can donate through payroll giving.
Capital gains tax
The capital gains tax annual exempt amount for this financial year is £11,700, and this will increase in 2019-20 to £12,000. If possible, it’s advisable for clients to use up their allowance in the tax year, as it can’t be carried forward into the following tax year.
Inheritance tax
Inheritance tax is payable on death if the value of your client's estate is over £325,000. There are some ways clients can minimise the amount of inheritance tax payable on their estate, for example through gifts, charitable donations and taking advantage of inheritance tax reliefs.
Investment bonds
Use of investment bonds may be an attractive way to defer an income tax liability, particularly for those paying at higher marginal tax rates.
Enterprise investment schemes and Venture capital trusts
Those with a greater appetite for risk may want to consider Enterprise investment schemes (EIS), Seed Enterprise investment schemes (SEIS) or Venture capital trust investments.
Downoad our factsheets on tax and income and tax-efficient investments
Get in touch to learn more
Nucleus is an adviser-built wrap platform, supporting financial advisers deliver outstanding financial outcomes. To find out more how we could support you with tax year end, fill in the form below and we'll be in touch.
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A to Z of tax year end
A is for…
annual allowance
B is for…
bonus
C is for…
capital gains tax
D is for…
dates and deadlines
E is for…
exemptions
F is for…
flying start
G is for…
grandchildren
H is for…
higher earners
I is for…
Isa
J is for…
Jisa
K is for…
knowledge
L is for…
lifetime allowance
M is for…
married couples
N is for…
new tax year
O is for…
optimal tax position
P is for…
pensions
Q is for…
questions about tax
R is for…
remember
S is for…
subscription limits
T is for…
tapered annual allowance
U is for…
use it or lose it
V is for…
venture capital trust
W is for…
window of opportunity
X is for…
generation X
Y is for…
young people
Z is for…
generation Z
personal allowance, starting and basic rate bands, personal savings allowance and the tax-free divided allowance. Couples should ensure they make best use of allowances between them.