Let’s get ahead of tax planning CHECKLIST before it’s too late

If you are a single director in a company, YOUR CHECKLIST before company financial year ends?

You can claim

• Business mileages/ Business travel costs including accommodations
• meal allowance of maximum of £25 per day if your business journey lasts beyond 8 pm
• 5p per mile for passenger in addition to business mileage
• Trivial Benefits -Up to £50 per item £300 per year total, no cash or performance rewards.
• Training/CPD – All role-related training is tax-free.
• Staff Events – £150 per head per annum per year (incl. directors).
• Professional Fees – Approved subscriptions
• Relevant Life Insurance – Tax-free life cover, deductible for company
• Relocation – Up to £8,000 tax-free for qualifying work-related moves.
• Office Equipment – Laptops, desks, chairs, monitors, software (tax-free if company-owned).
• Mobile Phone – One company phone, any cost, tax-free (contract in company name)
• Work related social networking subscriptions
• Eye tests expenses (if use of computer is an integral and main part of the job)
• Home office expenses (actual or flat rate)

5^th April 2026 TAX CHECKLIST?

Personal

1. Pension planning -Annual tax-free pension contribution limit of £60,000 is capped to £2,000 in April 2029 for National Insurance Contributions.

• Did you know that you can go back for 3 years and use carry forward relief?

2. Dividend planning – is your current salary/dividend structure is beneficial in the new tax year? Because the dividend tax has increased by 2% and frozen tax bands makes people pay higher tax for the same income earned. This makes take home salary lesser.

• Strategize the optimal solution with the right salary and dividend proportion along with employment allowance claim.

3. If your income has reached £100,000, consider timing your bonus carefully to help preserve your £12,570 personal allowance. For every £2 of “adjusted net income” above £100,000, you lose £1 of your Personal Allowance
4. If your spouse has unused remaining personal allowance, you can transfer up to £1,260. This will reduce your tax bill by £252.
5. Maximize gift aid relief timing and protect your child benefit for 25/26

• Ex: If your income is £70,000 (above £60,000), you can donate and protect some or all of your child benefit claim from HMRC

6. Inheritance tax planning (IHT)-

• Married couple could get gift up to £12,000 tax free before 5 April 2026 (if last year unused)
• For marriage and civil partnership, parent can gift their children up to £5,000 tax free and grandparent to their grandchildren up to £2,500 tax free
• If your estate value is over £2mn, use lifetime gifting option to reduce the estate value. This will save IHT and any future growth on gifted option is outside estate
• Review the property ownership structure
• Consider Potentially Exempt Transfers. This will drag the estate gift to 7 years rule and avoid IHT

7. Short term Wealth planning

• Cash ISA Limit is reduced to £12,000 per annum (previously limit is £20,000). Consider any Junior ISA allowances (£9,000 per child) to utilize the lost Cash ISA limit of £8,000

Business

8. Incorporation relief for property company is not automatic anymore. It needs to be claimed.

• Does this mean that you need to rush for the incorporation before March ends? No need to rush, but there might be a longer wait in the future and your application will be considered by HMRC and might be rejected.

9. Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED). Starting April 2028, eVED increases costs per mile for company electric vehicles users

• Does this mean business mileage reimbursements get affected? No

10. Utilize capital gains annual exemption £3,000 and plan any property disposals for future tax changes

• Does this mean you need to rush for the property disposal? Not   With the correct tax planning strategy, you can plan in a better way

Tick the checklist and face the tax changes with confidence