- It's never too late (Non-Habitual Residence (NHR)) - Published Oct 2018 by Raoul Ruiz Martinez
- Are You on Top of GDPR? - Published May 2018 by Raoul Ruiz Martinez
- Financial Fitness - Published Jan 2018 by Raoul Ruiz Martinez
- Six Tough Questions You Need to Ask - Published in Nov 2017 by Raoul Ruiz Martinez
- Plan for a Successful Retirement - Published Oct 2017 by Raoul Ruiz Martinez
- 5-year Plan, 10-year Plan, 30-Year Plan. Do you have yours? - Published August 2017 by Raoul Ruiz Martinez
- The Will Bank Opportunity by John L Douglas - Published in The Journal of the Law Society of Scotland 17th July 2017
- August 2017 - HMRC & Offshore Accounts for UK Residents
- A New Year, A New Start…. January 2017
- Inheritance Tax (IHT) Planning (Part 3) - Published November 2016
- Planning for a Better Future? Forget Trusts. Think Family Investment Companies! - Published Nov 16
- Inheritance Tax Planning (Part 2) - Published August 2016
- BREXIT: What do we know as investors and what are the unknowns? Published in July 2016
- Inheritance Tax Planning (Part 1) - Published in June 2016
- Why is tidy a key word in financial planning? Published May 2016
- The Future of International Financial Planning - Published in March 2016
- Volatility: Global Financial Markets and Tax - Published Feburary 2016
- Financial Information Sharing for 2016 - Published December 2015
Summary of the 2015 Pension Flexibility - Published 5th May 2015
Offshore bonds get £5k tax free savings boost - Published 29th April 2015
How your peers invest clients’ money: Finesco Financial Services Ltd - Published in Professional Advisor 25th March 2015
- TRUSTS : Good Reasons to Never Make a Change - Published March 2015
- Saving....for Ourselves - Today's children will need A £2.4m pension pot.
- Cash is King - Article Published 25th July 2013
- Saving – Don’t Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Can Do Today - Article Published 23rd May 2013
HMRC Statutory Residence Test - 6th April 2013
- QNUPS Article Published 23rd March 2013
- Old New Year - Article Published 24th January 2013
- Retirement and Savings – The Facts on Inflation published November 2012
- Finesco Prsentation on New Pension Rules - A New Generation Begins
HMRC Pension Tax Relief Changes
- Emergency Budget:
- Budget Day: 22 June 2010
- Capital Gains Tax Angles
- Long Term Care
- QROPS: Transferring UK Pensions Overseas
- The State of Pensions
- ISA Changes Affecting You



Capital Gains Tax Angles
It is estimated that if the average person works from 1 January each year it will be May before they have earned enough to pay their Income Taxes*.
Quite a thought, isn’t it? So it makes sense to buck the average and take whatever steps possible to keep more each year for yourself.
For instance, most people don’t make full use of their allowances, the Capital Gains Tax allowance, which is regularly neglected, is a good example.
We can each receive £10,100 in capital gains every year without paying a penny in Capital Gains Tax. For a married couple, this is £20,200, every year!
For most of us this means reviewing your shares and other investments and selling sufficient to use your allowance each year. The assets don’t even have to belong to you. If you are married, you can transfer assets in your name to your husband or wife (or civil partner) without having to pay CGT and they can then use their allowances as well.
Capital gains released in this way can be spent as extra ‘income’ or reinvested but there are some reinvestment rules to watch out for. A neat way to double up on your allowance is to sell assets up to the CGT allowance, currently £10,100, and then reinvest the proceeds into an Individual Savings Account (ISA). Sometimes called the ‘Bed and ISA’ approach it uses your current CGT allowance to save tax today and the ISA allowance to save tax in the future.
In an ISA, all gains are tax-free and you don’t have to pay any further Income Tax. There is no need even to declare an ISA on your Tax Return.
With Income Tax rates at up to 50% (and National Insurance on top in some cases) compared to Capital Gains Tax at just 18%, even if you exceed the CGT threshold, the rate of tax you pay is much lower. Unquestionably, assets which are taxed under the CGT rules as opposed to Income Tax rules, therefore, are increasingly coming under closer scrutiny and may be worth a closer examination by us all.
However, using annual allowances and a thorough review of investments requires due procedure and discipline otherwise opportunities will be lost. A regular system operating to sensible priorities and an overall plan is something which is important to consider and implement before any action is taken.
This approach is not for everyone though. Assets subject to CGT are often more risky and/or have to be held for longer for gains to materialise. Naturally, the risk could mean that such assets don’t produce gains but losses instead. An unpalatable fact which must be borne in mind.
Taxation benefits are one aspect of a larger suitability question which can only be answered by looking into your personal circumstances in conjunction with a suitably qualified and regulated adviser.
* Source: Adam Smith Institute
This article represents our interpretations of current and proposed legislation and HMRC practice as at the date of publication. This may change in the future.
The article is to provide technical and generic guidance and should not be interpreted as a personal recommendation or advice.
Finesco Financial Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.