Helping Your Children and Grandchildren

There are a number of tax efficient methods by which you can help your children and grandchildren.  Funding these opportunities may be a lifetime gift reducing your estate for inheritance tax purposes.  They may also generate tax benefits for your children and grandchildren with either tax credits at source or reduced income tax liabilities within a family.

Inheritance Tax, tax efficient investments, pensions and helping the grandchildren

Following on from this month’s Budget, in today’s Insight, we take a look at a number of areas covered by the Budget that may be important as part of your financial planning and strategy.

On Wednesday 4 March 2021, Chancellor Rishi Sunak presented his second Budget, which he described as a “three-part plan to protect the jobs and livelihoods of the British people” comprising:

Tax Efficient Investments

There are a number of tax efficient investment schemes.

Pensions and ISAs

Pensions

The lifetime allowance is £1,073,100 for 2020/21 and is likely to increase in line with inflation in subsequent tax years.  Certain taxpayers who have already funded their pension plans on the basis of the previous lifetime limits had the opportunity to apply for fixed protection to fix their lifetime allowance to such previous limits.

Inheritance Tax Planning

The key to successful estate planning is to first make sure that your wishes for your estate are properly carried out and second that opportunities to reduce the inheritance tax are fully taken.

Capital Gains Tax Planning

Capital gains tax planning should always form part of your regular tax planning activities. So, in this second post in our Year End Tax Planning series, we take a look at some of the key considerations you should have in mind as we approach the end of the financial year.

Optimising your marginal income tax rate

And if so, how to take away some of the pain

Nobody wants to fall out with HMRC but unfortunately there sometimes comes a time when, despite everyone’s best efforts (or even sometimes because of them), you’re faced with the prospect of litigation. For some, this may feel like a chance at vindication, for others the mere thought will fill you with dread. Whichever camp you’re in, before you take the next step, here are some key considerations to ensure the conduct of your case is both necessary and effective.