Year end tax planning points to consider before 5 April 2017

In 2017, the tax year ends on Wednesday 5 April, over a week before Easter. The Budget is almost a month earlier (8 March), but that should not affect most tax year end actions. As a reminder, here are some of this year’s points to consider – and act on, if necessary – by
5 April:

• If your pension benefits were worth over £1.25m in total on 5 April 2014, you have until 5 April 2017 to claim individual protection.

• If you reached state pension age before 6 April 2016, 5 April is the deadline for making Class 3A voluntary contributions to top up your state pension.

• 5 April is the last day for making pension contributions to exploit up to £50,000 of unused annual allowance from 2013/14.

• If your employer offers salary sacrifice arrangements, the new, harsher, tax rules will apply immediately for any starting after 5 April. Arrangements which begin before
  6 April 2017 will enjoy the old tax rules for another year (another four years for sacrifice involving cars, accommodation and school fees).

• Any of the £3,000 annual exemption for inheritance tax that was unused in 2015/16 will be lost unless you make gifts covering both this tax year’s exemption in full and the unused balance from the previous year.

• If you have started to draw a flexible income from your pension arrangements, the maximum further tax-efficient pension contribution you can make will fall from £10,000 to £4,000 on 6 April.

• Your annual capital gains tax exemption of £11,100 will disappear on 5 April.

• 5 April is the final day to make ISA contributions of up to £15,240 for the current tax year.

If any of these strike a chord, do please talk to us: just because there is a deadline, does not mean you have to act.