Changes to inheritance tax (IHT) came in earlier this year, affecting the allowance for those wanting to pass on their home to members of the family. But as the changes are being rolled out over the next few years up to the 2020/21 financial year, it can be hard to know if and how the… 
In 2015, under the Government’s Freedom and Choice pensions reform initiative, things changed radically for members of personal pensions plans. In this Focus we highlight Personal Pension Plan Death Benefits (i.e. not Occupational Pension Schemes) and point to just a few of the key issues that arise from those changes. Much depends on the age…
Perhaps … or perhaps not! Here is a summary of just some of the implications of giving away a family home. (*) Was the objective to save Inheritance Tax? Continue living in the property and IHT at 40% could apply under the ‘reservation of benefit’ rules. You could avoid this rule by paying a full…
The UK savings ratio is currently in the news – a record low of 1.7% of disposable income as against an average of almost 10% for the last 50 years. Warning bells are sounding! So how much are you actually saving for retirement? Is it enough? Simply paying into your savings or into your pension…
When HMRC claims not to have received your Tax Return or other important document and you appeal against HMRC’s penalty notice, you are required to have a ‘reasonable excuse’ which existed for the whole period of the default. There is no definition in law of reasonable excuse, which is a matter to be considered in…
Many people believe that there is such a thing as a ‘common-law marriage’, where couples in a long-term relationship acquire equivalent rights to people who are married. But this ‘common-law marriage’ is a myth: only couples who are married or in civil partnerships have legal rights and responsibilities. ‘Common-law marriage’ is not recognised by the…
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently confirmed that inflation calculated by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose from 1.8% in January to 2.3% in February, a figure above both the Bank of England’s own target of 2% and the figure of 2.2% predicted by many financial commentators. This rise will obviously have an impact…
One of the most significant announcements made by the Chancellor Philip Hammond in the recent Spring Budget was the change to the amount of tax-free dividends that can be received by both company directors and shareholders. From April next year, the current amount of £5,000 will decrease to just £2,000. This is set to raise…
Tax Year End Reminders: Use’em or lose’em! Just a few weeks left to check your annual allowances and exemptions. The Tax Year ends in a few weeks’ time on the 5th April. Before that we have the last ever Spring Budget Speech on the 8th March. UK taxpayers have a number of annual tax allowances…
“It’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future” – a quote which is usually attributed to either baseball player Yogi Berra or author Mark Twain – which in reality was most likely never actually said by either man – but nonetheless pithily sums up the problem with trying to work out what is going…