The tax year ends on 5 April, and with it a set of allowances that mostly cannot be recovered afterwards. Plenty of investors notice only when their platform sends a reminder in late March — by which point there is time to act, but not much room for dithering. What follows is a practical running order for the weeks before the deadline, from the £20,000 ISA limit to the pension allowance most people never get near. Figures are for the current tax year; thresholds and rules do change, so check GOV.UK or speak to an adviser if your circumstances are anything but simple.
Use the ISA allowance, because you cannot get it back
You can subscribe up to £20,000 across all your adult ISAs in a tax year, split however you like between cash, stocks and shares, and innovative finance. A couple can shelter £40,000 between them. Anything unused on 5 April is gone — there is no mechanism to backdate it.
A few rules worth keeping straight:
- The limit is per person, not per household. An unused allowance in one name is genuinely wasted.
- Moving money between ISA providers is a transfer, not a fresh subscription. It does not touch your allowance. Withdrawing cash and paying it into a different ISA does — unless the account is flexible and the replacement happens in the same tax year.
- A Lifetime ISA is not an extra allowance. Its £4,000 cap sits inside the £20,000, with a 25% government bonus on contributions.
- Junior ISAs are separate, with their own limit, and are a sensible home for money earmarked for children.
If cash is sitting in an ordinary savings account earning more than your personal savings allowance, moving what you can into an ISA is usually straightforward arithmetic.
Capital gains: a £3,000 exemption that resets each April
You only pay capital gains tax on gains you actually realise, and the annual exempt amount gives everyone a slice of gains tax-free: £3,000 this tax year. It does not roll over.
Two moves are worth considering. First, if you hold assets you intend to sell eventually, realising gains gradually to use the exemption each year can keep more of the total outside tax than selling in one go. Second, make sure the exemption is used in both names — transfers between spouses and civil partners are free of CGT, so moving an asset into the lower earner's name before a sale can double the amount sheltered.
Losses count too. They can be set against gains in the same year, and unused losses can be carried forward, but only if you claim them, generally within four years of the end of the tax year in which they arose. If you sell a property that is not your main home, CGT is due within 60 days of completion rather than on the following January.
One caution: do not manufacture gains purely to use the exemption. Selling something you would rather keep, to satisfy a tax calculation, rarely survives contact with dealing costs.
Bed-and-ISA: shifting holdings into the shelter
Bed-and-ISA means selling a holding in a taxable account and buying it back inside an ISA. The sale may trigger a gain — which is where the exemption comes in — while the repurchase sits inside the wrapper, so future growth and income are sheltered.
- Check the gain or loss, and whether selling uses part of your exemption or creates a bill.
- Ask your platform whether it offers a bed-and-ISA service. Many handle the sale and repurchase the same day, keeping you out of the market for minutes.
- Watch the costs. Two sets of dealing charges, plus stamp duty on the repurchase, can cancel out the benefit on small positions.
Selling outside an ISA and buying the same shares back within 30 days in a taxable account can fall foul of matching rules, which is why the repurchase is normally made inside the ISA wrapper. Ask your provider to confirm how they treat it. The same idea exists for pensions, though the relief works differently.
Pensions: the largest allowance on the list
The annual allowance is £60,000 for most people, and contributions attract tax relief on the way in. It is tapered for very high earners, and relief is capped at 100% of your relevant UK earnings — a part-time worker on £15,000 cannot pay in £60,000 and expect relief on the lot.
Unused allowance from the previous three tax years can usually be carried forward, provided you were a member of a registered pension scheme in those years. Use the current year first, then the oldest of the three.
The mechanics matter. Contribute £8,000 from net pay into a personal pension or SIPP and the provider adds basic-rate relief, making £10,000. Higher and additional-rate taxpayers claim the rest through self-assessment. Salary sacrifice through a workplace scheme produces a different saving again, including National Insurance.
One deadline quirk: contributions must reach the scheme, not merely be requested, before 5 April. Allow a few extra days if the deadline falls near a weekend.
Smaller allowances that add up
- Dividends. The dividend allowance shelters a modest amount of dividend income at 0%, but it still uses up part of your band. Holding dividend payers inside an ISA avoids the issue.
- Savings interest. The personal savings allowance covers £1,000 of interest for basic-rate taxpayers, £500 for higher-rate, and nothing for additional-rate.
- Marriage allowance. A basic-rate taxpayer can transfer part of their personal allowance to a spouse or civil partner, cutting their bill.
- Band boundaries. If you are near a threshold, spreading income and gains sensibly between two people can keep you in a lower band.
A final fortnight checklist
- Confirm how much ISA allowance you have left across every provider, not just the one you use most.
- Check realised gains and losses for the year so far, and whether any losses still need claiming.
- Decide whether a bed-and-ISA suits any taxable holdings, and get the paperwork moving early.
- Calculate pension headroom, including carry forward, and make the payment with days to spare.
- Write everything down. A short note of what you sold, bought and contributed will save hours next January.
Where to stop and get help
Most of this is manageable with a spreadsheet and an afternoon. But if you have a large portfolio, property disposals, overseas assets, or income near a taper threshold, the arithmetic gets genuinely complicated, and the cost of getting it wrong is usually higher than the cost of advice. An accountant or a regulated financial adviser can confirm what you are entitled to before you commit. Do the easy things now, and be honest with yourself about the parts that deserve a professional eye.
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