Even if you’re focused on meeting the self-assessment tax deadline on 31 January, you may want to consider preparing yourself and your finances for the 2026/27 tax year starting on 6 April.
By looking ahead now, you’re giving yourself time to think about the tax planning opportunities, and to speak with advisers about managing risk and achieving your financial goals.
To help you get started, here are 10 tips for 2026/27. They include ISAs, buy-to-let portfolios, dividends, electric cars and more.
1. Make the most of your ISA allowance
ISAs are free from income tax and capital gains tax (CGT).
The overall ISA allowance is currently £20,000. This doesn’t carry over between tax years, so it makes sense to use as much of your allowance as you can afford to by 5 April each year.
The limits for different ISA types are:
The Chancelloe announced announced a change to ISAs in the Autumn Budget that won’t take effect until the 2027/28 tax year. From 6 April 2027, for individuals under 65, only £12,000 of the £20,000 allowance can be allocated to a cash ISA with the remainder of £8,000 able to be invested into a stocks & shares ISA. Those aged 65 and over can continue to contribute the full £20,000 to a cash ISA each year.
2. Review the returnyou’re receiving on your capital
Whether you have funds on deposit receiving a low return, or you rent property and are affected by the reduction in tax relief on loan interest, the return on capital or annual yields should be reviewed.
Our team at BKL Wealth Management can review and advise on your personal or family wealth and assets.
3. Explore other tax allowances for your savings
For savings held outside pensions and ISAs, the Government gives several other allowances.
These include the Personal Savings Allowance: a tax-free allowance for interest payments. It is £1,000 for basic-rate taxpayers and £500 for higher-rate taxpayers but doesn’t apply to additional-rate taxpayers.
All taxpayers also receive a £500 tax-free allowance for dividend income.
Are you making the best use of these allowances? Speak to us to find out more.
4. Use your annual tax-free allowances when making financial gifts
Each tax year you can make a range of tax-free financial gifts. These leave your estate immediately and won’t be taken into account when calculating your inheritance tax (IHT) bill.
These gifts could include:
- Gifts to your spouse or civil partner (as long as the UK is their permanent home)
- Unlimited individual gifts of up to £250 per person (as long as you haven’t used another allowance on the same person)
- Unlimited payments towards the living costs of a child, elderly dependant or ex-spouse
Do you know the value of your estate? Have you considered IHT planning? We can help you to start or revise your plans. Read more about our estate and IHT planning services here.
5. Use your annual allowance for pension contributions
Investments in your pension are free from income tax and CGT. Because of these and other tax benefits, there is a limit to the amount you can pay into your pension.
Each year you can contribute as much money as you earn, usually up to £60,000 (although this tapers down to £10,000 for higher earners). You may also be able to make extra contributions by carrying forward any unused allowance from the previous three tax years.
Basic rate tax relief is obtained at source and higher rate tax relief is obtained via your annual tax returns. In the right circumstances, the net cost of making a contribution can be very low!
In addition to maximising the tax relief on pension contributions, our team at BKL Wealth Management would be happy to review your current pension arrangements. In general, pension schemes have become more efficient over time, so if you do have an older policy then we would always recommend a review.
For those pensioners who previously only received the state pension income, which was covered by the personal tax allowance, from 2027/28 this will now be subject to income tax, given their state pensions will exceed the personal allowance.
From April 2026, ability to pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions (NICs) while living or working abroad and maintain an entitlement to a UK state pension will be removed. From April 2026, UK nationals abroad will only be eligible to pay the higher-priced Class 3 contributions, and only if they meet the new 10-year condition.
6. Review your buy-to-let portfolio structure
If your spouse or civil partner is a basic rate taxpayer while you’re a higher rate taxpayer, or vice versa, it makes sense for the lower earner to be the one who receives taxable rents from any buy-to-let properties you own. In certain circumstances it’s possible to split income to an unequal share.
A review of any borrowings on your main residence and investment property would also be worthwhile.
If you’re thinking of selling or gifting a property in 2026/27, we can help you to plan accordingly and understand your CGT liability.
7. Take advantage of Gift Aid
Where the qualifying conditions for Gift Aid are fulfilled and the relevant paperwork signed, not only is your monetary donation to charity topped up by 25% by the Government; the donation also serves to reduce the amount of any higher-rate or additional-rate income tax you pay.
Even better reliefs potentially apply where the donation is in the form of a ‘qualifying investment’ rather than in cash. In such cases, not only do you deduct the value of the donation in working out your taxable income (so that you obtain tax relief at your highest rate of tax); you also are absolved from paying CGT on the disposal. Thus, it will normally be more tax-efficient to give the asset to the charity than to sell the asset, pay CGT and gift the net proceeds.
Gift Aid payments can be related back to the previous year, but only if made before the filing of the tax return.
Get in touch to discuss Gift Aid, its availability and its limitations.
8. Consider remuneration planning
Following the National Insurance (NI) changes in April 2025, it’s worth revisiting the basis of remuneration planning – how you pay yourself and extract your income from your company – to check if the position has changed and tax savings can now be achieved.
Watch our video on remuneration planning for owner-managed businesses (OMBs), and get in touch to discuss how specialists in OMB tax and employment tax can help you.
9. Explore the benefits of electric cars
Are you considering an electric or low emission vehicle for business use? The tax-related advantages are also worth looking into.
They cover capital allowances, car benefits in kind (determined by the level of a car’s CO2 emissions and its fuel type) and fuel benefits in kind.
Use our car benefit calculator to work out the taxable value of company cars or fuel provided for employees’ private use.
10. Consider the structure of your business
If you’re in business, are you in the right business structure? There are pros and cons to operating via a company as compared to a sole trade, partnership or LLP, particularly in light of changes in tax rates announced in the Budget.
In tax terms you can assume, very broadly, that if significant amounts of profits are going to be retained within the business, incorporation may be worth considering. If pretty much all the profit is withdrawn for personal consumption, it probably isn’t worth considering.
Whether incorporated or not, consider the possible tax benefits of ‘income sharing’ with a spouse or civil partner– either by transferring shares in your company or by introducing someone as partner in a partnership or member of an LLP.
Tax is only one of the factors to take into account. To help you grow your business and secure its future, our accounts and business services team are here to advise you.
Finally, a bonus tip:
Speak to specialists for help with tax
Our tax and wealth management specialists are experienced at helping individuals, families and businesses to make the most of tax rules and allowances. We can advise you on structuring your finances tax-efficiently to ensure you don’t pay more tax than is necessary.
As well as advising clients directly, we can arrange an initial consultation with one of BKL Wealth Management’s financial planners. There is no cost for this consultation: it’s an opportunity for you to discuss your specific circumstances and goals with an experienced financial planner. If you choose to take up any of their services, all costs will be agreed in advance.
If that sounds like a New Tax Year’s Resolution worth making, contact us today for a chat about how we can help you in 2026/27.
