With 2023 now well underway, here are some smart tax-saving habits to get into before the end of the tax year:
Make the most of your tax allowances: Making the best use of your tax allowances helps to make your money go further. Many of us have ISAs, but there are many other possibilities that are sometimes overlooked and left unused. Make sure you’re not missing out on the allowances that you can benefit from. For instance, are you using what you’re entitled to, such as ‘carry forward’ on your annual pensions allowances, or your gifting allowance?
Break the ‘last-minute’ tax habit: The 2022/23 tax year may not end until 5 April, but there’s no need to put yourself under unnecessary deadline stress by leaving everything until the last minute. There are sound, practical reasons for sorting your taxes and year-end finances in good time too. It can take much longer for providers to process transactions if there’s a bottleneck at tax-year end.
Get your papers in order: Many more of us are self-employed, which means more of us are filing self-assessment tax returns. The end of January deadline for online self-assessment returns can spark a last-minute panic search for records, receipts, missing statements, and other information that you need to make sure your return is accurate and complete.
It’s easy to miss the deadline and incur penalties that you might otherwise have avoided. If you’re self-employed, your personal finances will be closely linked to your business, so you’ve got more work to do. It’s especially important for sole traders to be organised and get advice.
If you get into the habit of keeping your paperwork up to date, you’ll make life much easier come self-assessment time. Plus, you’ll give your accountant less chasing to do, which means less time to charge you for.
To receive a complimentary guide covering wealth management, retirement planning or inheritance tax planning, contact Peter Harding Wealth Management on 01202 830730 or email peterhardingwm@sjpp.co.uk.
Peter Harding Wealth Management is a trading name of Peter Harding Practice Ltd.
SJP Approved: 13/01/2023