The UK tax system is very complex, and there are many reliefs and allowances that individuals can take advantage of
As each tax year draws to an end, so do some opportunities to save on tax close. With the pandemic creating a big hole in public finances, tax rises are likely to be on their way in the not-too-distant future.
Plans take time to put in place, so taxpayers should take action now.
Work and tax
The first thing to consider is whether all allowances have been used. The UK tax system is very complex, and there are many reliefs and allowances that individuals can take advantage of, provided that they meet the necessary conditions. Guidance is available on GOV.UK (but you need to know what you are looking for).
Tax relief for employees
In regard to tax relief for employees, where the employer has not already reimbursed the employee for costs they have incurred while doing their job, it is possible to claim tax relief on costs. These include homeworking, professional fees and subscriptions, uniforms and work clothing and travel and subsistence costs.
Homeworking reliefs and allowances are a hot topic this year, with so many more people working at home as a result of COVID-19.
Individuals forced to work from home as a result of the pandemic are entitled to claim tax relief on homeworking allowances of £6 per week for 2020/21 without needing to produce evidence of the costs incurred. If the costs of heating, light and water use while working from home exceed that, then it is possible to claim tax relief for more costs, provided that there is supporting evidence to prove the additional costs incurred.
Employees who are not in self-assessment can use HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC) dedicated portal to check their eligibility for and then claim tax relief on their expenses (GOV. UK, 2020).
Trading and property allowances
Trading and property allowances were introduced in 2017 and allow individuals full relief from income tax on small amounts of trading and property income.
The trading allowance is available in full where the turnover (not profits) from trading income in a tax year is no more than £1000. The property allowance similarly applies to relieve income from rental where the gross receipts in the year are no more than £1000.
If turnover or gross rental income exceeds £1000, it is also possible to claim partial relief by deducting £1000 from turnover/rental income instead of claiming for actual expenses. However, both the expenses and the allowances cannot be claimed—it has to be one or the other. Claiming the allowance rather than expenses is worthwhile if expenses are less than £1000 or if the individual has not kept full records of their costs.
Make it personal
By its very nature, tax has a personal element to it. With some planning, it is possible to use other allowances to reduce tax liabilities.
Gift aid
Especially for higher rate taxpayers, it is worth adding up the value of donations made under gift aid to get some tax relief. A charity can recover the individual's basic rate tax of 20% on any gift-aided donations. For a net donation of £1, this means that the charity can reclaim 25p of tax from the Government. However, a 40% rate taxpayer will have paid another 25p of tax that they can recover from HMRC. This can be done through self-assessment, or by asking HMRC to amend the tax code.
Inheritance tax
Each year, individuals can gift up to £3000 without inheritance tax (IHT) consequences by using the annual gift exemption. Gifts within the allowance are not added back to the donor's estate, even if they die within 7 years. Helpfully, this gifting allowance can be carried forward up to 1 year, so if a gift has not been made in the previous tax year, it is possible to make gifts totalling £6000 in the current year without any IHT implications.
» As a result of the significant tax advantages, there is a limit to how much can be put into a pension and still benefit from the tax relief each tax year «
Capital gains tax
In the same way that individuals have an amount of tax-free income each year, they can also make gains up to annual exempt amount (£12 300 for 2020/21) without triggering capital gains tax.
In practice, most people do not realise gains each year. The allowance cannot be rolled forward, but it can be useful to allow tax-efficient disposals from a share portfolio each tax year.
Buying a house
Finally, for those looking to move house, do not forget that the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) holiday introduced in July 2020 is due to end on 31 March 2021. The ‘holiday’ means that most people buying their own home to live in who can complete the purchase by that date will only pay SDLT if the cost of the property exceeds £500 000. The rules are more complex if more than one property is owned, or if someone is not able to sell their current home before buying their next property.
Looking to the future
Just as there are allowances to save on tax, there are allowances to save and invest.
Pension planning
Pension contributions can significantly reduce current tax bills; however, this is a complex area, and it is essential to obtain advice before starting or changing pension contributions, particularly as funds placed in a pension may not be accessible again for many years.
In essence, though, making a pension contribution reduces a tax bill because either the pension scheme claims the basic rate tax back on the contributions made out of after-tax pay (and the individual reclaims any extra higher rate tax from HMRC) or the contributions can made out of gross, pre-tax income, thus reducing the amount of income on which tax is calculated.
As a result of the significant tax advantages, there is a limit to how much money can be put into a pension and still benefit from the tax relief each tax year. This is another reason to review contributions before the tax year-end.
An individual's annual allowance is the lower of £40 000 or their ‘relevant earnings’, which, broadly, is the total of earned income, such as employment income and income from self-employment, but excludes unearned income such as interest, dividends, pensions or rental income. One of the reasons that pension contributions are often left to the end of the tax year is to ensure that the best estimate of relevant earnings can be made.
The position gets more complex for those on higher incomes, as the annual allowances are tapered down the more that an individual earns over certain limits until it reaches a minimum of £4000. This restricts higher earners from making pension contributions. Fortunately, the point at which the taper kicks in was significantly increased in April 2020, so the tapering now starts for those with incomes in the region of £240 000, rather than £150 000. Higher earners previously advised that they had limited capacity to contribute to a pension should review if they can now contribute more.
If the individual cannot use their annual allowance, it is possible to carry forward unused annual allowance from up to the three previous tax years.
There are also limits on how much can be held in a pension pot before other tax charges start to bite. The lifetime allowance for the 2020/21 tax year is £1 073 100. Where an individual's total pension pots exceed this limit, they may incur additional tax charges when they come to cash it in. Again, another reason for those considering making larger contributions to take advice before doing so.
Individual savings accounts
Individual savings accounts (ISAs) are tax-advantaged products that allow capital to grow tax-free because the income and gains from funds invested in an ISA are not taxable. Individuals are limited in how much they can pay in, and any unused allowance cannot be rolled forward.
Since their launch in 1999, ISAs have evolved, and there are now four different types of ISA: cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, innovative finance ISAs and Lifetime ISAs. Not everyone can invest in each type of ISA. You need to be aged over 16 years for a cash ISA, and aged over 18 for the other three accounts.
For Lifetime ISAs, you must be aged 39 or younger when the account is opened, and saving for either your first home or your retirement. Provided that certain conditions are met, individuals investing in a Lifetime ISA will receive a bonus from the Government of £1 for every £4 invested until they turn 50. This bonus is another reason not to miss out on the potential to contribute each tax year.
There are limits on how much an individual can invest in any tax year. The total limit across all four types of ISA is £20 000, of which, no more than £4000 can be invested into a Lifetime ISA.
For those who have maxed out their own ISA, it is possible to provide for children via a Junior ISA. Generally, parents need to take care when transferring money to children aged under 18, as special rules mean that if the income generated from capital gifted by a parent to their child exceeds £100 per year, that income remains taxable on the parent. However, these rules do not apply to Junior ISAs that can be set up for a child aged under 18 who does not have a Child Trust Fund. The subscription limit for a Junior ISA is £9000 for 2020-21.
» The total limit across all four types of ISA is £20 000, of which, no more than £4000 can be invested into a Lifetime ISA «
Savings allowances
For those who opt to save outside of ISAs, then there are further allowances to reduce the tax due. The savings allowance varies according to the individual's income, but for basic rate taxpayers, up to £1000 of savings income can be outside of tax. This reduces to £500 for higher rate taxpayers, and there is no allowance for those paying tax at 45% rates. A similar relief exists for dividend income.
Investments
Beyond saving, there is scope to save on tax through making investments. In particular, for those who are prepared to put away money for the required minimum periods and take an investment risk, there are three tax-advantaged investment schemes that involve investing directly or indirectly in smaller, unquoted trading companies. While these schemes can have appealing tax benefits on both the Income tax and capital gains tax fronts—in part, designed to compensate for the increased risk of investment—they are also quite complex, and detailed advice is necessary.
Venture capital trusts
A venture capital trust (VCT) is a quoted company that invests in stocks and shares issued by unquoted companies. Where the taxpayer subscribes new cash to acquire shares in a qualifying Venture Capital Trusts (VCT), it is possible to offset up to 30% of the value of the investment (up to a limit of the first £200 000 of the investment) against an income tax bill in the tax year of investment.
Enterprise Investment Scheme
The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) encourages direct investment in qualifying unquoted trading companies. An individual can receive income tax relief worth up to 30% of the investment capped at a maximum investment of £1 million (increased to £2 million for ‘knowledge-intensive companies’) in any given tax year.
Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme
The younger sibling of EIS, the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) allows more generous reliefs with smaller investment limits into smaller unquoted UK trading companies for whom EIS is not necessarily suitable. The income tax relief can be up to 50% of the amount invested, subject to a subscription limit in each tax year of £100 000.
In summary
A good accountant will advise to ‘not let the tax tail wag the investment dog’—in simpler terms, individuals should not take action purely because of a tax benefit. It is a fact that tax opportunities do come and go; with a payback for COVID-19 due, it is sensible to look at every option before doors shut in April 2021.