Below, we have outlined these areas along with hints and tips to consider before Friday 3 April 2026 (as 5 April falls on a Sunday this year and some providers may work to the Friday).
At the end of this article, you will also find a helpful year-end tax planning checklist.
If you'd like to speak with one of our advisers about growing and managing your finances in a tax-efficient way, or about how upcoming tax changes may impact you, please do get in touch.
The investment limit for 2025/26 is £20,000 per adult individual, which can be split between cash, stocks and shares, and / or innovative finance ISAs. ISAs can provide tax-efficient savings options as the interest on a cash ISA, and income and capital gains on a stocks and shares ISA, are not taxable.
Innovative finance ISAs are more targeted at potentially more complex investments (such as peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding debentures or alternative finance arrangements) or less liquid investments and so may not be appropriate for every individual.
Utilising the available annual ISA allowance can be beneficial but depends on an individual’s personal financial strategy and objectives.
UK residents aged 18 to 39 can open a LISA and can continue to pay into it until age 50. Savers can contribute up to £4,000 per tax year and the Government will then add a 25% bonus at the end of each tax year in respect of the contributions paid, meaning up to an additional £1,000 of tax-free cash annually. If funds are withdrawn from the LISA before age 60, other than to buy a first home or in exceptional circumstances such as terminal illness, there is a 25% withdrawal charge. For individuals in the relevant age bracket, this could be a savings option to consider either for purchasing a first property or alongside a pension.
The JISA can be opened by a parent or guardian for children under the age of 18 who live in the UK. The annual limit is £9,000 in 2025/26. There are two types of JISA: a cash JISA (a savings account where there is no tax on the interest on the cash saved), and a stocks and shares JISA (where the cash is invested and there is no tax on any capital growth or income received).
A JISA can be a helpful way to save for a child and build up a little nest egg over several years but may not be right for everyone (for example, because a child can take control of the account at 16 and withdraw funds at 18).
Individuals have a CGT annual allowance of £3,000 in 2025/26. The allowance remains at £3,000 for 2026/27. While this amount has reduced significantly over the last 5-6 years, it does offer a small CGT window which may be appropriate to utilise (for example, in managing a wider investment portfolio).
Generally, the rate of CGT depends on an individual’s income tax bracket and the type of asset disposed of:
Individuals with assets qualifying for BADR or Investors’ Relief who are considering disposing of, or are in the process of disposing of, those assets should be aware that the BADR and Investors’ Relief rates will increase to 18% from 6 April 2026 and plan accordingly.
For most, the annual pension allowance, the amount you can save in your pension tax-free every year, is £60,000. However, it is worth considering whether available annual allowance is impacted by:
Annual pension contributions can provide a tax-efficient way of saving for retirement, especially on a cumulative basis, as contributions currently attract income tax relief, and growth within the fund is not subject to income tax or CGT.
When considering pension contributions, it may also be relevant to consider the upcoming changes on the IHT treatment of pensions (see below) and recently announced changes to salary sacrifice pensions from 6 April 2029 and take action to utilise available allowances prior to 5 April 2026 as a starting point.
Currently, pensions held within trust fall outside a deceased’s estate. This is now all changing and from 6 April 2027, any unused pension funds will become part of the estate for IHT purposes and be potentially liable to tax at 40% (paid from the pension fund) unless bequeathed to a spouse or civil partner.
In addition, where the deceased dies aged 75 or over, the individual inheriting the pension fund will pay tax at their personal marginal rate on any money withdrawn from the pot.
Significant changes to the Business Relief and Agricultural Relief regimes will take effect from 6 April 2026, which could require business owners to review their succession plans in a new IHT landscape and possibly take action prior to April 2026: £1.5m increase to IHT Business Relief from 6 April 2026
Gifting reliefs and exemptions remain available to help plan for mitigating IHT exposure, and could also be considered for prior to April 2026:
From 6 April 2025, the concept of domicile was removed as a relevant factor for taxing individuals and replaced by a new residence-based regime known broadly as the “FIG regime” (Foreign Income and Gains regime). HMRC updated their guidance on the FIG regime in December 2025.
As a broad overview, individuals who have been resident in the UK for more than four years will pay UK tax on their worldwide income and capital gains (newer arrivals may only pay tax on UK-sourced income and capital gains). Those who have been resident in the UK for ten years will also become subject to UK IHT on their worldwide assets.
The new rules are complex and impact both new international residents in the UK but also longer term residents who may have previously claimed the remittance basis and are seeing their UK tax position change.
Items to consider prior to April 2026 include the following (subject to taking the appropriate tax and financial planning advice for your situation):
Get in touch with our Private client tax and financial planning specialists
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As the UK government looks to address the fiscal gap, the concept of a wealth tax has resurfaced, but what could a wealth tax entail, and what implications would it have for individuals and the broader economy?
With the planned introduction of Inheritance Tax (IHT) on pensions, many people are starting to rethink how much they should be saving into their pension pots. While the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) has now been abolished, its previous limit of £1.073 million may still offer a useful benchmark.
From 6 April 2026, specific sole traders and landlords will be required to use Making Tax Digital (MTD) to report their income and expenses to HMRC. Whether an individual is affected will depend on their total annual income from self-employment and property.
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