Archives for 2023

The CGT annual exempt amount reduces from £12,300 to just £6,000 for gains made in 2023/24. Remember that the 2022/23 allowance is lost if not used by 5 April 2023 and you might want to consider bringing forward disposals of chargeable assets where possible. Where a married couple who are higher rate taxpayers own a buy to let property, bringing forward the disposal from 2023/24 could potentially save £3,528 CGT (£24,600 – £12,000 @ 28%). It would be important to exchange contracts before 6 April 2023 as that is the critical date for CGT.

When considering the wording of your Will you should note that the inheritance tax (IHT) nil rate band continues to be frozen at £325,000 until 2028. There is an additional nil rate band of up to £175,000 for passing on the family home to direct descendants on death. We can work with your solicitor to make sure your Will is tax efficient.

Where the nil bands are unused on the death of the first spouse the balance is available on the death of the surviving spouse, potentially allowing a married couple (or civil partners) to pass on assets of up to £1 million without paying IHT.

The residence nil band is even available when you downsize to a cheaper property. For example if a married couple currently live In a large house worth £500,000 and downsize to a flat worth £300,000 they could give away some of the proceeds during their lifetime and yet still benefit from inheritance tax relief based on the higher valued property.  They could even sell the house and move into a rental property or a care home and still benefit from this additional relief. In these circumstances, certain conditions must be met, so please speak to us if you think it may affect you.

For most taxpayers the maximum pension contribution is £40,000 each tax year, although this depends on their earnings. This limit covers both contributions by the individual and by their employer.

Under the current rules, the government adds to your pension contributions at the 20% basic rate. For instance, if you save £4,000 in a personal pension the government tops this up to £5,000. If you are a higher rate taxpayer there is a further £1,000 tax relief when your tax liability is calculated, reducing the net cost to £3,000. This can be even more effective if your income is between £100,000 and £125,140 where the effective tax rate is 60%. Remember that pension fund investments can go down as well as up.