The Role of Tax Efficiency in Retirement Planning getty As you approach or enter retirement, most investors focus on how their money is invested. While choosing the right mix of stocks, bonds, and cash is important, where those investments are held can be just as valuable. This concept, known as asset location, is a powerful
D. Scott Kenik is the Founder and Principal of Bluecrest Tax Advisors. For most successful investors and business owners, taxes represent their single largest lifetime expense—often exceeding housing, education, vacations and automobiles combined. Yet surprisingly few devote the same level of planning to taxes that they do to investments or growing their business. Traditional tax
One million more people are expected to pay income tax or move into a higher tax band this year due to the frozen tax thresholds, according to new analysis. The Taxpayers’ Alliance says the freeze will also bring around 500,000 lower-paid workers into paying income tax for the first time. First introduced in 2021 and
Under this model, a 45-year-old worker on an average salary would pay around £1,200 in contributions per year, or £100 a month. The report did not recommend this catch-up payment approach. Instead it warned against the higher tax rates which were “unlikely to offer the most deliverable route to reform” by targeting workers whose incomes
HMRC plans to use the policy to improve compliance and free up resources so it can focus on more complex cases of tax avoidance. But experts have warned the proposals could impose a “greater burden” on taxpayers. Nimesh Shah, of accountancy firm Blick Rothenberg, said: “Most people are not represented by a tax adviser –
HMRC recovered more than £100m in tax from landlords last year following a data-driven crackdown, figures show. Thousands of landlords came forward in 2025-26 to report undeclared rental income after receiving “nudge letters” from the tax office. Landlords made 11,511 voluntary disclosures, the highest number since 2018-19, with average payments of £9,063. HMRC recovered £104.3m
Andy Burnham spent his first week announcing things that were crowd-pleasing. The £2 cap on bus fares. Pausing the early release of prisoners. Reductions in business rates for pubs. A six-month VAT cut on household energy bills. Critics who argue the cash benefit of these measures is limited, or that it’s unclear how they’ll be
The new PM previously supported the idea of replacing Inheritance Tax with a 10% levy on all estates to pay for free social care 13:25, 28 Jul 2026Updated 18:31, 28 Jul 2026 Andy Burnham has been a long supporter of reforming adult social care(Image: Jeff Overs/BBC/PA Wire) Andy Burnham is rumoured to be considering a
For a two-bedroom flat near Canary Wharf, last bought for £380,000 in May 2024, the current Band D council tax bill is £1,837. Despite being in central London, this inner-city flat pays less in council tax than the Exmouth bungalow. Under a 0.48pc proportional property tax, the Canary Wharf home would pay £2,064, based on
A record 10.2 million people aged 65 and over are expected to pay UK income tax during the 2026/27 tax year as frozen thresholds pull more pensioners into the tax system, according to new figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The projections show the number of older taxpayers has risen sharply despite no increase