Tax Planning

Tax planning – How can we help you?

Tax is an essential part of how society functions, as it funds the Government to act on our behalf, but because tax can be so complex, we often end up paying more than we need to. Tax planning is a way to make sure that your money is working hard for you and that the amount you pay is fair.

What is tax planning?

Tax planning is the process of exploring your tax liability and ways to minimise your tax bills – that way, you can get more from your money.

Why is tax planning important?

Tax planning could save you thousands of pounds each year through various means. You can generate savings via:

• The way you make payments, and how you scheduled them over the tax year
• Accessing lower tax rates
• Reducing your tax bills
• Taking advantage of tax credits
• Making use of tax reliefs and exemptions

How you take advantage of these will depend on your personal situation. Our financial planners will take time to explore your income streams, business set-up and other financial affairs to assess how best to manage the tax you pay.

What types of tax do you need to consider?

There are many different ways that the Government gains income from us as tax, and it’s important to look at the bigger picture to find the most tax efficient ways to manage your wealth.

As a client of CT Wealth Management, we will consider all the following and more:

• Income Tax
• Inheritance Tax
• Capital Gains Tax
• Tax Credits and benefits
• Property Tax
• Business Tax (Corporation Tax, VAT and more)

How can I make the most of tax allowances?

The most effective way to ensure you are minimising your tax is to gain personal support with your financial affairs. Some of the key ways we will help you reduce the amount of money lost in tax include:

Income Tax bands

You can make pension contributions and charitable donations to reduce your taxable income levels, keeping it within the lower rate tax limits where possible.

Gifts for tax relief

Donating to UK registered charities gives them tax relief in the form of Gift Aid and reduces your tax bill.

Savings and Investment ISA allowances

There are many different ISAs to choose from, and the amounts you can invest have increased considerably. Each UK taxpayer aged 18 or over has an annual tax free allowance of £20,000 to invest in an ISA. You can spread your allowance across savings accounts and investments plus separate ISAs for children or grandchildren.

Boost your pension

As a UK taxpayer, you will get tax relief on pension contributions of up to 100% of your taxable earnings or a £40,000 annual allowance, whichever is lower. You can also use previous unused entitlement from the past three years.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) annual exemption

Everyone has an annual Capital Gains Tax exemption of £12,300 per annum (2025/2026) – if you don’t use it, you lose it.

Inheritance Tax gift exemption

You can give away £3,000 each tax year without any Inheritance Tax implications. You can use last year’s allowance if unused.

How can CT Wealth Management help me with my tax planning?

Getting to grips with tax legislation, rules, reliefs, exemptions and allowances is a full time job in itself.

We will take time getting to know you and your financial situation to get a full picture of your tax exposure. We will create a detailed financial plan with you, exploring Income Tax, Business Tax and Capital Gains Tax as a starting point to save you money.

HM Revenue and Customs practice and the law relating to taxation are complex and subject to individual circumstances and changes which cannot be foreseen.