Tax planning
Creating your tax plan
Personal taxation can be complex and often baffling. It is why many people pay unnecessary tax, but we can help you navigate through the maze.
Whether it be reducing income tax through pension contributions, mitigating inheritance tax (IHT) or understanding capital gains tax on a property transfer or investment, we are here to help you.
Why is tax planning important?
We all need to pay the tax that is due, but careful planning can ensure that you don’t pay any more tax than you need to. This often means saving and investing using tax-efficient structures like Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) and investment bonds and utilising the available tax breaks such as dividend and CGT allowances. By spreading your investments over wrappers with different tax attributes you are more likely to be able to generate a tax-efficient retirement income.
It also means making the most of the tax benefits of pensions, not least tax relief at your highest marginal rate on contributions, but being aware of their limitations. For example, understanding where your pension sits in relation to the lifetime allowance may help you to avoid unexpected charges and allow you to continue to save tax efficiently.
Likewise, preparation and cash flow planning are key to robust estate and succession planning. IHT has been dubbed a voluntary tax for good reason, because there are several ways you can reduce or avoid an IHT liability, including making gifts, charitable giving, setting up trusts and using business property relief.
How Weatherbys can help
At Weatherbys Private Bank, we can help identify the options for you and make sure the impact on your finances is fully modelled. Our approach helps you to assess how generous you can be and how you can mitigate any potential IHT liability. We start by understanding your objectives and personal circumstances. Then we crunch the numbers, build a model and make a plan. But we know that your situation can change so we review and update the model every year to ensure your plan is on track. If we can work out how much capital you need to support your lifestyle with the highest probability of success, the lowest possible cost and taking the lowest possible risk, then you will have a clear idea of how much you can transfer to the next generation.
Tax efficiency may feel like an administrative headache, but it doesn’t need to be. With expert help it can make a significant difference to your long-term finances.
Important information
Tax laws are subject to change and taxation will vary depending on individual circumstances. Investments can go up and down in value and you may not get back the full amount originally invested.