You’ve probably had all the usual end-of-tax-year reminders already. These are important to heed and time is now running out to make sure you take advantage of all the headline allowances.

This includes using as much of your ISA and pension allowances as you can and managing your CGT liability.

It’s important to note with ISA and pension allowances that transfers and other activities can take time to go through. Banks can be slow to enact requests, and that can lead to missing out on essential allowances inadvertently.

That’s why it’s important not to wait till the last moment and make sure the necessary actions are taken.

Beyond these essentials, there may be some options that you haven’t considered as the end of the tax year approaches. Here are a few extra tips for this tax year and the next.

Start addressing your tax bill

More than 5 million people sending in a tax return leave it until the January deadline[1].

However, you will probably have an inkling if you’re likely to face a bigger bill this year and it’s better to address it sooner rather than later.

Your options include additional pension contributions, but also VCT contributions.

Last tax year £882 million was invested in VCTs – the third highest year on record[2]. Payments into new VCTs attract income tax relief at 30%, plus tax-free dividends and growth.

IHT gifting

Inheritance tax receipts are rising. Inheritance Tax receipts for April 2024 to January 2025 are £7 billion, which is £0.7 billion higher than the same period last year[3].

The easiest option to move money out of the inheritance tax net is to use your gift allowances. You get £3,000 every year to give to whoever you like.

You can also make regular gifts out of income. These can be as high as you like, as long as you can show that they don’t diminish your standard of living.

You can also make more substantial gifts: as long as you survive seven years, they’ll be out of the inheritance tax net. It’s worth considering your own health and even average life expectancy when planning this.

Be careful too, you may have to pay capital gains tax on the transfer if you’ve made profits. This is a potentially valuable action to plan for and make but a financial planner can help you consider the best way to go about it.

Selling loss-making assets

Investors often focus on the ‘plus’ side of the equation when managing their capital gains tax bill. They sell assets that have done well to maximise their allowance every year.

However, too often, they neglect the other side – forgetting that they can sell loss-making assets to set off against their liability.

That stock that you’ve been hanging on to hoping it may go up? There could be no point in paying a chunky CGT bill when you could just cut your losses and offset them against any gains for the year.

It may also mean you don’t have to sell assets that have performed far better.

This is a tricky one to ensure you get right though, so it’s always best to speak to a planner to ascertain the best approach is essential.

Don’t forget your children’s allowances

You can put up to £9,000 every year in a junior ISA, and another £2,880 into a junior pension (the Government will add £720 basic tax relief (20%) bringing the total to £3,600).

The effect of compound interest is powerful. Monthly savings of £250, invested at 6%, would give a child a pot of £96,800.

Try salary sacrifice

Salary sacrifice is where an employee chooses to give up part of their salary in exchange for a non-cash benefit such as holiday, pension contributions, or childcare vouchers. It has tax benefits for both employer and employee.

Companies may be looking to offer salary sacrifices to help them offset the impact of rising National Insurance allowances. It’s always worth investigating what your company offers.

It may be too late to have a meaningful impact for the 24/25 tax year, but at least you may be able to reduce your tax allowance in the year ahead.

Please note: VCTs invest in smaller higher-risk companies. They are not suitable for everyone. They are illiquid and capital is at risk. Investors should not invest money they are not prepared to lose. Tax rules can change and benefits will depend on individual circumstances. This is not advice, it simply explains the main facts. Please refer to a financial planner before making any high-risk investments.