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10 tax allowances we fail to claim
In 2012 Unbiased.co.uk reported that £12.6 billion was unclaimed by UK tax payers, here is a list with some ideas:
- Income Related Tax Credits – Check and find out what you are entitled to – UK Benefits https://www.gov.uk/benefits-adviser
- Tax Relief on Pension Contributions – There are estimated to be over 4 million people not paying into a pension, auto enrolment should help to change that, this blogs explains the tax advantages http://stevejbicknell.com/2012/05/02/why-invest-in-a-pension-because-of-tax-relief/
- Tax Relief on Charity Donations – Are you using Gift Aid? are you a higher rate tax payer entitled to additional relief?
- Saving on Inheritance Tax – Many people don’t have a Will let alone any IHT planning!
- Making Use of ISA’s – Why get taxed on the interest on your savings if you could have an ISA? Its easy to get an ISA and you can still have access to your ISA savings if you need it, the current ISA allowance is £11,520 or £5,760 for cash ISA’s
- Child Benefit – Use the benefits adviser to check if you can claim – UK Benefits https://www.gov.uk/benefits-adviser
- Avoiding tax penalties and late filing – This just requires you to be organised, make sure you know the filing dates http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa/deadlines-penalties.htm and get the information needed in plenty of time
- Savings on Capital Gains – The current allowance for 2013/14 is £10,900 (previously £10,600) for an individual many people seem to forget they have this allowance
- Making Use of Employee Share Schemes – The government love employees to have shares and this year introduced a new share ownership option http://stevejbicknell.com/2013/08/03/employee-shareholders-will-your-employees-want-shares/
- Income Tax and Personal Allowances – Consider who should own assets (and get income from those investments) – you or your spouse – so that you can minimise your tax liability
Steve@bicknells.net
Are you missing out on money you’re entitled to?
You could be missing out on money that is owed to you:
UK Benefits https://www.gov.uk/benefits-adviser
The benefits adviser checks if you’re eligible to claim:
- Attendance Allowance
- Bereavement Allowance
- Bereavement Payment
- Carer’s Allowance *
- Carer’s Credit
- Child Benefit *
- Child Tax Credit *
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance *
- Guardian’s Allowance
- Housing Benefit *
- Incapacity Benefit
- Income Support *
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Jobseeker’s Allowance *
- Maternity Allowance
- Pension Credit *
- State Pension
- Statutory Adoption Pay
- Statutory Maternity Pay
- Statutory Paternity Pay
- Statutory Sick Pay
- War Widow’s or Widower’s Pension
- Widowed Parents Allowance
- Working Tax Credit *
(*) – For these benefits, you’ll also get an estimate of how much you might get.
Lost Pensions https://www.gov.uk/find-lost-pension
The Pension Service will help you track down any lost pensions, if you’re not retired you might be able to consolidate all your pensions to get a better return.
Unclaimed Assets and Forgotten Funds http://www.unclaimedassets.co.uk/
Assets are considered dormant when contact with the owner is lost – typically due to a name change after marriage or divorce, an unreported change of address or expired postal forwarding order, and incomplete or illegible records.
It’s important to note millions of family members remain unaware they’re entitled to collect unclaimed assets owed deceased relatives, who passed on without leaving updated financial records for their heirs.
The majority of this lost money comes from dormant bank accounts, orphan pensions, unknown windfalls, missing shares and abandoned dividends, forgotten life insurance policies, National Savings Certificates and Premium Bonds which have not been redeemed; but also included is £300 million in unclaimed National Lottery winnings!
Lost Savings and Bank Accounts http://www.mylostaccount.org.uk/
If you think you may have lost touch with your account or savings, this website will guide you through some simple steps to help reunite you with your money. This is a FREE service and is brought to you by the British Bankers’ Association, the Building Societies Association and National Savings and Investments.
steve@bicknells.net
Business Accountant 