With careful planning and administration, it is possible for both individuals and companies to achieve the dual objectives of helping a chosen charity and saving tax.  There are various ways this can be done and what is the most effective, will depend on your particular circumstances.

And even HMRC will give you their blessing at this time!

Christmas is rightly regarded as a time of giving and comes with an incentive from the taxman to give free of inheritance tax.  With three themes, here are some ideas for lifetime giving at Christmas.

In an interesting recent development, Agricultural Property Relief (“APR”) for Inheritance Tax (“IHT”) was officially extended to include vineyards and wineries.  Given the success of the English wine industry, it will be no surprise that the tax code has caught up with the real world.

Your exit strategy may provide for sale within the next 5 or 25 years, a sale may be imminent, or you may want to pass your business on to your children. But whatever stage you’re at, are you confident that your exit strategy will pass muster?

But what’s the long term effect of losing those early year contributions?

In your 20s and 30s, retirement age seems a long way off. A house purchase, holidays in the sun and maybe even school fees all take priority over family finances and personal pension planning can easily get pushed to the bottom of the pile.

Doing your own tax return might seem like a straightforward process that could save you in accountancy fees and won’t take you long. But it isn’t, and it could cost you dear. So if you’re still tempted to do it yourself this year, it’s worth asking yourself the following questions:

You’re probably more than a little familiar with your personal tax allowance and tax band. But a survey in 2015 by the International Longevity Centre UK think-tank, revealed that a shockingly high proportion of people don’t understand fairly commonplace tax terminology, with only 20% understanding the term ‘marginal tax rate’. And the trouble is, not understanding your marginal tax rate could leave you with a tax bill well above 45%!

It’s fast becoming the impossible dream for some. Getting your foot on the property ladder or perhaps helping your children to do so is becoming a real financial stretch, particularly with all the other demands on your budget. Just saving fo the deposit is bad enough, let alone securing a mortgage once you’ve found your dream home.

Who doesn’t want something tax free? Individual Saving Accounts (ISAs) offer you exactly that: a chance to earn interest on your savings free of tax, even if you’re a higher rate taxpayer. But few people take full advantage of what ISAs can really offer.