It\u2019s always a good time to consider financial planning, but at the start of a new tax year, when you have a fresh set of annual allowances to take advantage of, you have the perfect opportunity to get your financial affairs in order and align them with your goals.
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The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April each year. These dates don\u2019t change but tax rules and regulations do change and it is important to stay up-to-date.<\/p>\n
Mitigating the COVID-19 economic impact
\nThe UK government has accumulated massive deficits while trying to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on individuals and businesses.<\/p>\n
Essentially, they have three options to try and reduce their debt burdens: implement austerity, including higher taxes, so that the borrowing can be repaid; deliver economic growth so that the debt burden to GDP falls; or allow inflation to erode the real value of the debt.<\/p>\n
Meet your goals in a tax-efficient way <\/strong> Financial planning ensures that you take advantage of these by organising your finances to make the most of your money and avoid situations you may not have anticipated. Taxation can affect net investment returns, and maximising your net return will help you meet your financial objectives. There are a number of potential financial planning solutions to help you meet your goals in a tax-efficient way.<\/p>\n March Budget 2021 changes announced <\/strong> The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, delivered Budget 2021 to Parliament on 3 March. Here are some of the key announcements around tax and financial planning.<\/p>\n Pensions<\/strong> Pensions still remain one of the most tax-efficient ways to invest, particularly for higher and additional rate taxpayers. In addition to tax relief on what you pay in, any growth is free of UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax. And any remaining funds in your pension on death are usually free of Inheritance Tax after your death.<\/p>\n Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)<\/strong> Capital Gains Tax (CGT)<\/strong> As part of financial planning, it still makes sense to make as much use as possible of the valuable ISA and pension allowances, to ensure your funds are held in the most tax-efficient manner.<\/p>\n Inheritance Tax (IHT)<\/strong> If you\u2019re thinking about how you can reduce the Inheritance Tax your beneficiaries have to pay when you die, there are various options you should consider.<\/p>\n Achieve your goals and future wellbeing<\/strong> Even if you\u2019re in a good position financially, there are various ways that financial planning could help improve your current situation, for example by:<\/strong><\/p>\n improving the growth rate your Avoid costly financial missteps<\/strong> It can also help you avoid costly financial missteps, such as making a risky investment, being subject to an unexpected tax charge or underestimating the liquidity you need, resulting in the forced sale of your assets. But the value of financial planning isn\u2019t just limited to the returns you get from it.<\/p>\n There are also practical and emotional benefits to receiving professional financial advice, for example by:<\/strong><\/p>\n freeing up time spent managing your finances INFORMATION IS BASED ON OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF TAXATION LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS. ANY LEVELS AND BASES OF, AND RELIEFS FROM, TAXATION ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.<\/p>\n THE VALUE OF INVESTMENTS AND INCOME FROM THEM MAY GO DOWN. YOU MAY NOT GET BACK THE ORIGINAL AMOUNT INVESTED.<\/p>\n PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT A RELIABLE INDICATOR OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE.<\/p>\n THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY DOES NOT REGULATE TAXATION & TRUST ADVICE.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Creating a roadmap for your future financial success It\u2019s always a good time to consider financial planning, but at the start of a new tax year, when you have a fresh set of annual allowances to take advantage of, you have the perfect opportunity to get your financial affairs in order and align them with … Continue reading “A New Tax Year, A New Start For Your Finances”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rmw-ifa.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rmw-ifa.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rmw-ifa.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmw-ifa.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmw-ifa.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmw-ifa.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3436\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rmw-ifa.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmw-ifa.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmw-ifa.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe good news is that if you start considering the recent and potential tax changes now, you should be able to mitigate some of the adverse effects. Taxes on savings, investments and earnings all come with bands, reliefs, allowances and exemptions.<\/p>\n
\nThese involve making use of tax allowances each year, assessing investments that suit your tax profile and considering long-term plans for you and your family. This might necessitate some financial restructuring. Business owners will also need to prepare and plan for the changes announced in the March budget.<\/p>\n
\nDespite predictions that the many tax advantages of pensions could be cut back, they were left untouched. The most significant change was the decision to freeze the lifetime allowance (the amount you can hold in pensions without paying a tax charge) at its current level of \u00a31,073,100 until April 2026.<\/p>\n
\nThe Chancellor left ISA allowances unchanged. Any proceeds from an ISA remain free of UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax and, therefore, this is a key consideration in financial planning. As soon as the new tax year started on 6 April, your annual ISA allowance limit was reset.
\nFor the current tax year, savers can contribute up to \u00a320,000 each across the four main types of ISA, which include Cash, Stocks & Shares, Innovative Finance and Lifetime accounts.<\/p>\n
\nDespite proposals to increase CGT, there were no new announcements, other than the decision to freeze the annual tax-free allowance at its previous level of \u00a312,300 until April 2026.<\/p>\n
\nAgain, no changes were made to the standard nil-rate band of \u00a3325,000 and the residence nil-rate band of \u00a3175,000, both of which have been proposed to remain frozen until April 2026.<\/p>\n
\nThe purpose of creating a financial plan is to help you understand where you stand now and where you could be in the future if you take the right steps. It\u2019s about creating a roadmap for your money to help you achieve your goals and future wellbeing.
\nPutting in place a comprehensive financial plan and keeping it updated will be amongst the most important decisions you ever make. It should include details about your cash flow, savings, debt, investments, insurance and any other elements of your financial life and wellbeing.<\/p>\n
\ninvestments are achieving
\nintroducing new streams of income
\nminimising the tax you pay
\nrecommending solutions and products you might not be aware of<\/p>\n
\nDesigned to help secure your financial future, a financial plan seeks to identify your financial goals, prioritise them and then outline the exact steps that you need to take to achieve these goals.<\/p>\n
\nreducing the administrative burden on you
\nremoving financial stress, which could impact on your health
\ngiving you peace of mind that you\u2019re moving in the right direction<\/p>\n