As the end of the tax year draws near, it’s time to put your financial house in order. While it might feel like a bit of a chore, getting your finances in shape before the tax year end is not only smart—it can also save you a significant amount of money. In this blog, we’ll walk you through some top tips for financial planning and why you should pay attention to the tax year-end deadlines. Think of it as a spring clean for your finances!

Why Is the Tax Year-End Tax Planning So Important?

In the UK, the tax year runs from 6th April to 5th April the following year. The end of the tax year marks a crucial point in time when your financial situation is assessed, and the actions you take before the 5th of April can have a huge impact on your tax liabilities.

So, why should you care? Well, making sure your finances are in order could help you reduce your tax bill, boost your savings, and ensure you’re maximising the allowances available to you. Plus, it’s a chance to take stock of your overall financial health—something we can all benefit from!

Top Tips for Financial Planning Before the Tax Year-End

1. Use Up Your ISA Allowance

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) are a fantastic way to save tax-free, so it’s important to make sure you’re using your full allowance. For the 2025/26 tax year, the ISA allowance is £20,000 per person. If you don’t use it by the 5th of April, you’ll lose it—so why not make the most of this opportunity?

You can choose between a Cash ISA, Stocks & Shares ISA, or an Innovative Finance ISA, depending on your financial goals and risk appetite. Just be mindful of the deadline, and don’t leave it until the last minute!

2. Consider Contributing to Your Pension

One of the best ways to reduce your taxable income is by contributing to your pension. Pension contributions come with tax relief, so if you’re looking to reduce your tax liability, this is a strategy worth considering. You can contribute up to £60,000 per year into your pension (or 100% of your earnings, whichever is lower), but be aware of the rules around annual allowance and the carry-forward option if you haven’t maximised contributions in previous years.

The end of the tax year is a great time to boost your pension pot if you’ve got the means to do so. After all, you’re not just saving for your future, you’re saving on your taxes, too!

3. Make Use of Your Capital Gains Tax Allowance

Every tax year, you’re allowed to realise up to £3,000 worth of capital gains before you have to pay any tax on them (for the 2025/26 tax year). If you’ve made any profits from selling investments, property, or other assets, consider selling them before the tax year-end to make use of your annual exemption. You could also think about transferring assets to a spouse or civil partner, as they have their own allowance.

By carefully planning your asset sales, you can reduce your overall capital gains tax bill and keep more of your hard-earned money.

4. Review Your Tax Code and Check for Errors

It might sound tedious, but reviewing your tax code can help you avoid paying more tax than necessary. Mistakes happen, and your tax code could be wrong without you realising it. If you think something’s amiss, get in touch with HMRC before the year ends to get it sorted. The sooner you spot an error, the quicker you can rectify it and avoid overpaying.

5. Charitable Donations: A Win-Win

If you’re feeling generous, making charitable donations before the end of the tax year can also be a clever way to reduce your tax bill. Donations to charity are tax-deductible, and if you’re a taxpayer, you can claim Gift Aid on top of that.

You could donate to a cause close to your heart, and at the same time, benefit from a reduction in your taxable income. It’s a win-win!

Other Tips

Keep Track of Your Business Expenses

For those running a business, the tax year-end is a great time to take stock of any business expenses you’ve incurred. Be sure to claim all allowable expenses for the year, as they will reduce your taxable profit and, therefore, your tax bill. Think office supplies, travel expenses, or any work-related purchases. Keeping detailed records throughout the year will make this process far easier when it comes to tax time.

Organise Your Documents

As you prepare for the end of the tax year, it’s crucial to get your paperwork in order. Gather all relevant documents, such as your P60, P45, payslips, bank statements, and receipts for any business expenses. Having everything in one place will help you stay on top of your finances and make filing your tax return much smoother.

Start Early: Avoid the Last-Minute Rush

As tempting as it is to put things off, starting early can save you a lot of stress in the long run. Procrastination can lead to missed deadlines, rushed decisions, and potentially lost opportunities. Set aside some time each week leading up to the 5th of April to ensure you’re on top of everything.

Final Thoughts on Year-End Tax Planning: Get Ahead of the Game!

The end of the tax year is a great opportunity to reassess your financial situation, maximise your allowances, and reduce your tax bill. By following the tips above, you’ll not only be better prepared for the year ahead but also take advantage of opportunities to save money.

Financial planning doesn’t have to be overwhelming—just a little organisation can go a long way. So, why not get a head start and make sure you’re ahead of the game before the 5th of April? Your future self will thank you!

Do you have any tips for making the most of the tax year-end? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Get in touch here if you could benefit from the expertise of a friendly financial adviser.

The post Financial Planning and Year-End tax planning: A Guide to Getting Organised appeared first on Alice Douglass.

This article will look at those benefits.

Invest early in the tax year

Investing in a pension or an ISA early in the tax year could give you an additional 12 months of investment returns.

If we look at this in the context of the FTSE 100, a period of 10 years with a cumulative return of 68% would equate to 6.8% per annum if we take the average return. This would amount to growth over 12 months of £1,360 a year based upon a £20,000 investment into an ISA.  Or £2,720 if you invested £40,000 into a pension. In reality, the return could be more or much less than this over one year.

Where I have clients who have money invested within a General Investment Account (often called OEICs), I may recommend that we move £20,000 out of the investment where there are no overt tax advantages into their ISA to utilise the allowance and have an additional 12 months of tax-free returns. ISAs are free from Capital Gains and Income Tax, unlike GIAs and OEICs.

It is worth noting that there is no guarantee that investments will generate positive returns, and values could fall as well as rise.

Invest Regularly

If you cannot afford to make a one-off payment at the beginning of the tax year, or even if you can, it may be a good idea to make regular payments into an ISA or Pension.

By doing this, you not only miss the tax year-end panic, but you can also benefit from something called pound cost averaging. Pound cost averaging means that as the markets move up and down, investing on, say, a monthly basis, can smooth out the impacts of sudden stock market movements because you buy shares at different prices. When the value is down, you buy more for your money, and when the markets are high, the converse is true. Thus, it averages out the price you pay to invest in the stock market over time.

This avoids investing a large sum before a possible market fall, where the loss would be keenly felt. By investing smaller amounts at regular intervals, market falls will have less impact and mean that the contributions can buy more shares for the same money.

It is worth noting that there are limits to the amount you can pay into a pension and an ISA. The ISA allowance for 2025/26 is £20,000. For more details on the amount you can pay into a pension, read my previous blog here or seek financial advice.

Conclusion

To plan your finances early and avoid the last-minute rush, contact me for a no-obligation, complimentary initial meeting.

Tax rules, rates and allowances are all subject to change and are dependent on individual circumstances. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax advice and some forms of offshore investments. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise, and you may not get back the full amount you invested

The post New tax year – now is the time to do your Financial Planning appeared first on Alice Douglass.

Gifting Annual Exemptions

Each tax year, there is an “annual exemption” that enables you to make a gift that will be outside of your estate immediately and will therefore not incur inheritance tax. Moreover, these gifts do not have the “7-year rule” applied to them. The amount you can gift in cash or assets each tax year is £3,000. Anything over this amount would have the seven year rule applied and therefore may be subject to inheritance tax. If you have not used your previous year’s annual exemption, you can carry this forward to the current tax year, and therefore, you could gift £6,000 in one tax year; however, you cannot carry more than one year’s allowance forward.

By gifting £3,000 per year, after 10 years, this would save £12,000 inheritance tax.

There are circumstances where you can gift more, such as on the marriage of a child. To read more, click here.

Not everyone will be subject to inheritance tax; therefore, seek financial advice.

Capital gains

Each year, you have a Capital Gains Tax Allowance. This year 2025/26 the allowance is £3,000. This means that on the sale of assets (e.g. a 2^nd home, some investments), you are allowed a gain of £3,000 before any tax is applied.

Other allowances

There are other allowances that are linked to each tax year. These are more niche investments which are deemed high risk and are not suitable for everyone.

Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) provide income tax relief up to 30% with tax-free dividends and CGT relief. The maximum subscription this (2025/26) and next tax year is £200,000.

Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS). Also provide income tax relief at 30% and CGT relief. The maximum subscription is £1,000,000 for this and the next tax year.

The tax year-end is a significant cut-off in Financial Planning. These allowances, if not used, will, on the most part will be lost. I work with my clients to ensure utilising these allowances is not left until the very end of the tax year. However, if you haven’t utilised these allowances, you may want to speak to a Financial Adviser pretty sharpish and do something before 6th April.

The post Tax year end planning – Gifting, CGT and other allowances appeared first on Alice Douglass.

There are allowances each year that can reduce tax, receive tax relief and/or provide tax free growth. These need to be used up before the tax year end (5^th April each year) and if they aren’t, they may be lost. Tax years run from 6^th April to 5^th April. In a series of blogs, I will look at the various allowances for Pensions, ISAs, Capital Gains Tax, gifting annual exemptions, VCTs and EISs. This blog will cover ISAs.

ISA allowances

ISA

Each year, individuals can pay an allowance into ISAs.   For this tax year (2025/26), the maximum that can be paid into a cash ISA/Stocks and Shares ISA or a mix of the two is £20,000.  You have to be over 16 to open a Cash ISA and over 18 to have Stocks and Shares. The capital growth, dividends and any withdrawals taken are free from tax. Cash ISAs invest into just that, while Stocks and Shares ISAs invest into a variety of “assets” and their value can go down as well as up. To find out more about ISAs, click here.

Help to Buy ISA

There are also Help to Buy ISAs that are for first-time buyers’ use only. In a Help to Buy ISA, you can save £1,200 in the first month of opening, and then £200 per month after that. When you use the funds to buy your first home, the government adds a 25% bonus (up to a maximum of £3,000) onto your savings, helping you to buy the property.

Help to Buy ISAs are a type of cash ISA, which means you can’t usually contribute to both in the same tax year, although some providers may allow you to split your allowance between the two.

Lifetime ISA

The Lifetime ISA (LISA) launched in the current tax year to help save for an individual’s first house or their retirement. You can pay up to £4,000 each tax year into a LISA as a lump sum/multiple lump sums or regular payments. Like the Help to Buy ISA, the government will add a 25% bonus on top. So if you save the full £4,000, you’ll get an additional £1,000. LISAs can be held in Cash or Stocks and Shares. To find out more about the LISA, click here.

Junior ISA

Junior ISAs (JISA) – can be opened by or on behalf of anyone under the age of 18. The annual amount that can be invested is £9,000 (2025/26).

If you do not use your ISA allowances before 5^th April, they will be lost.

The tax year-end is a significant cut-off in Financial Planning. These allowances, if not used, on the most part will be lost. I work with my clients to ensure utilising these allowances is not left until the very end of the tax year. However, if you haven’t utilised these allowances, you may want to speak to a Financial Adviser pretty sharpish.

The post Tax year end planning – ISAs appeared first on Alice Douglass.

There are allowances each year that can reduce tax, receive tax relief and/or provide tax free growth. These need to be used up before the tax year end (5^th April each year) and if they aren’t, they may be lost. Tax years run from 6^th April to 5^th April. In a series of blogs, I will look at the various allowances for Pensions, ISAs, Capital Gains Tax, gifting annual exemptions, VCTs and EISs. This blog will cover pension contributions.

Pension Contributions

Each year, you can receive tax relief on payments into your pension. For most people, the amount is restricted to 100% earnings capped at £60,000. For those with an income in excess of £260,000, this amount may be capped at £10,000.

When you are taking an income from your pension, the amount you can pay in may be restricted to £10,000. If you are unsure as to whether this affects you, you should contact your financial adviser.

If you do not have any earnings, you can pay in £3,600 gross (including tax relief) which would cost you £2,880 net. These allowances could be used for making pension contributions for children/grand-children or for spouses who have no earnings, or even someone already retired. You should seek financial advice before looking into these options.

Companies can make contributions to their employees’ pensions on their behalf. The amount they pay needs to be deemed to be appropriate by the local inspector of taxes based upon their role and pay. The contributions made are free from Corporation Tax and the payments are linked to the business year end (rather than tax year end).

Generally, if you don’t use these allowances, you will lose them. There are rules regarding utilising previous years’ allowances where they haven’t been used. However, financial advice should be sought.

To find out more about pensions, click here or to find out how much you can pay into a pension, click here.

Pensions may not be right for everyone therefore seek financial advice.

The tax year end is a significant cut off in Financial Planning. These allowances if not used, on the most part will be lost. I work with my clients to ensure utilising these allowance is not left until the very end of the tax year. However, if you haven’t utilised these allowances, you may want to speak to a Financial Adviser pretty sharpish.

The post Tax year end planning – Pensions appeared first on Alice Douglass.