Tax Planning Checklist 2025/26

SilverThrone  Tax Planning Checklist 2025/26

Every taxpayer’s circumstances are different. This checklist is a starting point to help you review your tax position for the 2025/26 tax year (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026), complete your return on time and spot the areas where planning could save you tax. Work through each section, tick the points that apply to you, and bring the list to your next meeting with us.

Tax year6 Apr 2025 – 5 Apr 2026
Online return and balancing payment due31 January 2027
Personal allowance£12,570
CGT annual exempt amount£3,000

HMRC rates and allowances for 2025/26

These are the rates that apply when completing your 2025/26 Self Assessment return, due online by 31 January 2027.

Income tax: England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Band Taxable income
Personal allowance £12,570
Basic rate 20% £12,571 to £50,270
Higher rate 40% £50,271 to £125,140
Additional rate 45% Over £125,140
Personal allowance reduced by £1 for every £2 over £100,000

Income tax: Scotland (non-savings, non-dividend income)

Band Taxable income
Starter rate 19% £12,571 to £15,397
Basic rate 20% £15,398 to £27,491
Intermediate rate 21% £27,492 to £43,662
Higher rate 42% £43,663 to £75,000
Advanced rate 45% £75,001 to £125,140
Top rate 48% Over £125,140

Allowances, savings and dividends

Marriage Allowance transfer £1,260
Blind Person’s Allowance £3,130
Starting rate for savings (0%) £5,000
Personal savings allowance: basic / higher rate £1,000 / £500
Dividend allowance £500
Dividend rates: basic / higher / additional 8.75% / 33.75% / 39.35%
Trading allowance / property allowance £1,000 / £1,000
High Income Child Benefit Charge £60,000 to £80,000

National Insurance

Class 1 employee: 8% between / 2% above £12,570 / £50,270 a year
Class 1 employer: 15% above £5,000 a year
Employment Allowance £10,500
Class 1A and 1B 15%
Class 2: Small Profits Threshold / voluntary rate £6,845 / £3.50 a week
Class 3 voluntary £17.75 a week
Class 4: 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270
Class 4: on profits above £50,270 2%

Capital gains tax

Annual exempt amount (individuals) £3,000
Rate within basic rate band 18%
Rate above basic rate band 24%
Business Asset Disposal Relief / Investors’ Relief rate 14%
BADR lifetime limit £1 million
Residential property: report and pay within 60 days

Pensions and savings

Annual allowance £60,000
Money purchase annual allowance £10,000
Tapered allowance: threshold / adjusted income £200,000 / £260,000
Minimum tapered annual allowance £10,000
Lump sum allowance £268,275
Lump sum and death benefit allowance £1,073,100
ISA / Junior ISA / Lifetime ISA £20,000 / £9,000 / £4,000

Company cars, vans and mileage

Zero emission cars 3%
1–50g/km, electric range 130+ / 70–129 / 40–69 miles 3% / 6% / 9%
1–50g/km, electric range 30–39 / under 30 miles 13% / 15%
51–54g/km, rising 1% per 5g/km to a maximum 16% to 37%
Diesel supplement (non-RDE2), subject to the maximum 4%
Car fuel benefit multiplier £28,200
Van benefit / van fuel benefit £4,020 / £769
Approved mileage: cars first 10,000 / then 45p / 25p
Motorcycles / bicycles 24p / 20p

Inheritance tax

Nil rate band £325,000
Residence nil rate band £175,000
Residence nil rate band taper starts at £2 million
Rate / reduced rate (10% or more left to charity) 40% / 36%
Annual exemption / small gifts £3,000 / £250

Corporation tax and VAT

Small profits rate (profits up to £50,000) 19%
Main rate (profits over £250,000) 25%
Marginal relief fraction 3/200
Director loan charge (section 455) 33.75%
VAT standard rate 20%
VAT registration / deregistration threshold £90,000 / £88,000

Stamp Duty Land Tax (England and NI, residential, from 1 April 2025)

Purchase price Rate
Up to £125,000 0%
£125,001 to £250,000 2%
£250,001 to £925,000 5%
£925,001 to £1.5 million 10%
Over £1.5 million 12%
First-time buyers: 0% up to £300,000 (price up to £500,000) 5% on £300,001 to £500,000
Additional dwellings surcharge / non-resident surcharge 5% / 2%

The checklist

Click any point to tick it. Your ticks are saved in this browser, so you can come back to them, and you can print the checklist or save it as a PDF to send to us.

01The essentials

  • Check whether you need to file a 2025/26 Self Assessment return, for example because of rental, self-employed, overseas or untaxed income, the High Income Child Benefit Charge or capital gains to report
  • If you had a new source of income, make sure HMRC was told by 5 October 2026
  • Gather your P60, P11D, bank interest, dividend, pension and rental figures for the return
  • Check your payments on account and whether a reduction claim for 2026/27 is appropriate
  • Review your record keeping: most records must be kept for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline
  • Check whether Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to you from 6 April 2026 (qualifying income over £50,000) or 6 April 2027 (over £30,000)

02Family matters

  • Is each family member using their personal allowance, dividend allowance and savings allowances?
  • If income is between £100,000 and £125,140, consider pension contributions or Gift Aid to restore the personal allowance
  • Has a Marriage Allowance claim been made where one spouse or civil partner is a non-taxpayer? Claims can be backdated four years
  • If income is over £60,000 and Child Benefit is received, review the High Income Child Benefit Charge and whether income can be reduced
  • Are Gift Aid donations being declared so that higher rate relief is claimed?
  • Consider transferring investments between spouses to use both sets of allowances and lower tax bands
  • Check eligibility for Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours of funded childcare

03Working for others

  • Check your tax code in your HMRC personal tax account
  • Review the benefit in kind on company cars and vans; fully electric cars remain taxed at 3% for 2025/26
  • Double cab pick-ups bought or leased from 6 April 2025 are generally taxed as cars, not vans
  • Claim tax relief for business mileage in your own vehicle (45p a mile for the first 10,000 miles) where your employer pays less
  • Check the tax treatment of other benefits, expenses and salary sacrifice arrangements
  • Claim relief for professional subscriptions and unreimbursed work expenses

04Running a business

  • Review whether your business structure (sole trader, partnership or company) is still the most tax-efficient
  • Profits are now taxed on a tax year basis: check how any transition profits are being spread
  • The cash basis is now the default for most unincorporated businesses; decide whether accruals accounting suits you better
  • Make sure all allowable business expenses are being claimed, including use of home
  • Consider the £1,000 trading allowance for small side incomes
  • Class 2 National Insurance is no longer payable; check whether voluntary contributions are worthwhile to protect your State Pension

05Capital expenditure

  • Use the £1 million Annual Investment Allowance for most plant and machinery
  • Companies can claim full expensing on new main rate plant and machinery
  • Time significant purchases to fall in the year when relief is most valuable
  • Check how cars are treated: relief depends on CO2 emissions, with first year allowances for new zero-emission cars
  • Consider structures and buildings allowance on qualifying construction costs

06Employer obligations

  • Factor in employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 a year from 6 April 2025
  • Claim the Employment Allowance of up to £10,500 where eligible
  • Check that pay meets the National Living Wage of £12.21 an hour for workers aged 21 and over
  • Submit payroll on time through Real Time Information and file P11D forms by 6 July
  • Review pension auto-enrolment duties and re-enrolment dates
  • Review the employment status of contractors and your off-payroll working obligations

07Companies

  • Plan corporation tax: 19% on profits up to £50,000, 25% over £250,000, with marginal relief in between (limits shared between associated companies)
  • Review your mix of salary, dividends and employer pension contributions in light of the employer NIC changes
  • Check the impact of dividend tax rates of 8.75%, 33.75% and 39.35%
  • Clear overdrawn director’s loan accounts within nine months of the year end to avoid the 33.75% section 455 charge
  • Make sure directors and people with significant control have completed Companies House identity verification
  • Consider succession and extraction planning before selling or closing a company

08VAT

  • Monitor rolling 12-month turnover against the £90,000 registration threshold
  • Consider voluntary registration if your customers can recover VAT
  • Review whether the Flat Rate, Cash Accounting or Annual Accounting scheme would help
  • Check that VAT on costs is being recovered where you are entitled to it
  • Make sure your VAT records and software are Making Tax Digital compliant

09Tax and your investments

  • Did you use your £20,000 ISA allowance before 5 April 2026? Unused allowance cannot be carried forward
  • Junior ISA (£9,000) and Lifetime ISA (£4,000 with a 25% government bonus, for those aged 18 to 39)
  • Enterprise Investment Scheme: 30% income tax relief and capital gains deferral
  • Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme: 50% income tax relief
  • Venture Capital Trusts: 30% income tax relief on 2025/26 subscriptions (reduced to 20% from 6 April 2026)
  • Read our guide to tax-efficient investments

10Pensions

  • Review contributions against the £60,000 annual allowance, and carry forward unused allowance from the previous three years
  • Check the tapered annual allowance if adjusted income exceeds £260,000
  • The money purchase annual allowance of £10,000 applies once you have flexibly accessed a pension
  • The tax-free lump sum is normally capped at £268,275
  • Claim higher rate relief on personal contributions through your tax return
  • Most unused pension funds will fall within inheritance tax from April 2027: review your estate plan and nominations

11Property matters

  • The furnished holiday lettings regime ended on 6 April 2025: check how your holiday lets are now taxed
  • Mortgage interest on residential lets attracts a 20% tax credit, not a full deduction
  • Claim all allowable letting costs, or the £1,000 property allowance if better
  • Report and pay capital gains tax on UK residential property within 60 days of completion
  • Stamp Duty Land Tax: from 1 April 2025 the nil rate band is £125,000 (£300,000 for first-time buyers) and the surcharge on additional homes is 5%
  • Undeclared rental income? Consider the Let Property Campaign
  • Check main residence relief if you own more than one home or let part of your home

12Capital gains tax

  • Did each family member use their £3,000 annual exempt amount?
  • Gains are taxed at 18% or 24% depending on your income
  • Business Asset Disposal Relief was 14% for 2025/26 (rising to 18% from 6 April 2026), subject to a £1 million lifetime limit
  • Transfers between spouses and civil partners are generally tax-neutral and can make use of both exemptions
  • Claim capital losses within four years so they can be used against future gains
  • Take advice before disposing of significant assets

13Inheritance tax

  • Use the £3,000 annual gift exemption and £250 small gifts exemption
  • Consider regular gifts out of surplus income, which are exempt immediately
  • Review your nil rate band (£325,000) and residence nil rate band (£175,000), which tapers away on estates over £2 million
  • Agricultural and business property relief changed from 6 April 2026: review family business and farm succession plans
  • Make or update your will and lasting powers of attorney
  • Consider whether trusts or life assurance written in trust would help
  • Since 6 April 2025, exposure to UK inheritance tax depends on long-term UK residence rather than domicile

Key dates

6 July 2026 P11D and P11D(b) forms due for 2025/26
31 July 2026 Second payment on account for 2025/26
5 October 2026 Deadline to notify HMRC of new taxable income for 2025/26
31 October 2026 Paper Self Assessment return deadline
30 December 2026 File online if you want an underpayment of less than £3,000 collected through your tax code
31 January 2027 Online return deadline, balancing payment for 2025/26 and first payment on account for 2026/27

See our tax calendar for all deadlines.

Talk to us about your checklist

Tick the points that apply to you and bring the list to a meeting, or send it to us at service@silverthrone.co.uk and we will be in touch.

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Related services and insights

This checklist is for general information only and is based on our understanding of the rules for the 2025/26 tax year. It does not constitute tax advice. You should seek professional advice before acting on any of the matters covered.