Your personal tax, handled and planned
We prepare and file your self assessment tax return, and make sure you don't pay more personal tax than you need to.
Company directors, landlords, the self-employed and anyone with significant investment income usually need a self assessment tax return. The online return and any tax due are due by 31 January after the end of the tax year, and many people also make payments on account in January and July.
Filing the return is only part of it. We look at how you take money out of your business, how your investments are held and how income is shared within your family, so you pay the tax you owe and no more.
- 1We agree a fee
- 2We send you a checklist of what we need
- 3We prepare your return and work out the tax
- 4We go through it with you and look for savings
- 5You approve it
- 6We file it and tell you what to pay and when
Who benefits, and how
With most allowances and thresholds frozen, more people are paying higher rates of tax each year without their circumstances changing. Personal tax planning is now worth doing for far more people than it used to be.
Company directors
- The right mix of salary, dividends and pension contributions, worked out each year against your company's profits and your other income.
- Dividend tax rates rose from 6 April 2026 to 10.75% for basic rate taxpayers and 35.75% for higher rate taxpayers. The additional rate stays at 39.35%. Plans set before then need checking.
- Your company accounts and your own return prepared together, so dividends, loans and benefits match on both sides.
- Planning ahead of a sale or a share disposal, including whether Business Asset Disposal Relief at 18% applies.
Landlords and investors
- Rental income, mortgage interest relief and allowable costs set out correctly, with losses carried forward and used.
- From April 2027, savings income, and property income in England and Northern Ireland, are taxed at their own higher rates of 22%, 42% and 47%. We look at how your income is held before then.
- Capital gains on the sale of a UK residential property reported and paid within 60 days, not left until the tax return.
- Making Tax Digital for income tax already applies to landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, and extends to those over £30,000 from April 2027.
High earners and families
- Income between £100,000 and £125,140 loses the personal allowance at £1 for every £2 earned. Pension contributions and Gift Aid can bring it back.
- The high income child benefit charge starts at £60,000 of adjusted net income and takes back all of the benefit at £80,000.
- Higher rate relief on your own pension contributions and Gift Aid claimed through your return, rather than left unclaimed.
- A tax-efficient way to share income and assets between spouses or civil partners, within the rules.
The main levers
Most of the savings in personal tax come from a few decisions made before the end of the tax year, not from the return itself. These are the ones we look at most often.
Salary and dividends
How a director takes money out of their own company.
- Suits
- Owner-managers of limited companies.
- How it works
- A modest salary keeps your National Insurance record and is deductible for the company. Further profits can be paid as dividends, after corporation tax, with the first £500 of dividends each year tax-free.
- Watch out for
- Dividends can only be paid from profits available for distribution, and need proper paperwork. The higher dividend rates from April 2026 narrow the gap with salary.
Pension contributions
Saving for retirement in the most tax-efficient wrapper there is.
- Suits
- Anyone with spare income, and especially higher rate taxpayers and those caught by the £100,000 taper or the child benefit charge.
- How it works
- Tax relief on personal contributions up to 100% of your earnings, within an annual allowance of £60,000. Unused allowance from the previous three years can usually be carried forward. Directors can also contribute through their company.
- Watch out for
- The allowance tapers down to £10,000 for the highest earners, and a lower allowance applies once you have flexibly drawn from a pension. From April 2027, unused pensions also count for inheritance tax.
ISAs and investment structures
Holding savings and investments where they are taxed least.
- Suits
- Anyone with savings or investments outside a pension.
- How it works
- Up to £20,000 a year into ISAs, where interest, dividends and gains are free of income tax and capital gains tax. Larger portfolios can sometimes be held more efficiently through other structures, such as a company.
- Watch out for
- The ISA allowance is for each tax year, so a year not used is gone. Other structures have their own costs and are a long-term commitment.
Sharing income within the family
Using each family member's allowances and lower rate bands.
- Suits
- Couples where one earns much more than the other, and families with investment income or property.
- How it works
- Assets can usually pass between spouses and civil partners without capital gains tax, so income-producing assets can be held by the lower earner. Jointly owned property can be taxed in unequal shares where you own it in unequal shares and tell HMRC on Form 17.
- Watch out for
- The gift must be real and outright. Income from money a parent gives to their own minor child is taxed on the parent once it is more than £100 a year.
Rates and allowances are those in force for 2026/27 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scottish income tax rates and bands are different. Pensions and investments are regulated: we work with your financial adviser on these.
Payments on account
If your last self assessment bill was £1,000 or more, and less than 80% of your tax was collected at source, HMRC expects two payments on account towards the next year. Each is half of last year's bill, due on 31 January and 31 July, with any balance due the following 31 January.
In the first year your bill goes up, that can mean paying the balance for one year and the first instalment for the next on the same day. If your income is falling, the payments can be reduced, but interest is charged if they are cut too far. We check them each year and tell you what to pay, and when, well ahead of the deadlines.
The £100,000 taper and the child benefit charge
Your personal allowance of £12,570 falls by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000, and is gone at £125,140. In that band, every extra £1 of income also costs you 50p of allowance, so the tax on it is far higher than the headline 40%.
The high income child benefit charge works the same way at a lower level. It takes back 1% of your child benefit for every £200 of adjusted net income over £60,000, and all of it at £80,000. It falls on whichever partner has the higher income, even if the other claims the benefit.
- Personal pension contributions and Gift Aid reduce adjusted net income, and can restore some or all of the allowance and the child benefit.
- The personal allowance and the basic and higher rate thresholds are frozen until April 2031, so more people will reach these bands each year.
Capital gains
The first £3,000 of gains each tax year is tax-free. Above that, gains are taxed at 18% within the basic rate band and 24% above it. Business Asset Disposal Relief, where it applies, gives a rate of 18% on qualifying business gains.
Timing matters. Spreading disposals across tax years, using a spouse or civil partner's allowance and basic rate band, and setting losses against gains can all reduce the bill. Shares held in an ISA are outside capital gains tax altogether.
- Gains on UK residential property, such as a buy-to-let, must be reported and the tax paid within 60 days of completion.
- Gifts to anyone other than a spouse, civil partner or charity are usually treated as a sale at market value, so giving an asset away can create a gain.
Questions we’re often asked
Do I need to file a tax return?
Usually, if you are self-employed, a partner in a business, a landlord, or have income or gains that are not taxed at source, such as dividends above the allowance. Most company directors file one. If it is your first return, you need to register by 5 October after the end of the tax year.
When is my return due?
For the 2025/26 tax year, an online return and any tax owed are due by 31 January 2027. Paper returns must reach HMRC by 31 October 2026. We aim to file well before January, so you know what you owe in good time.
Can you deal with HMRC for me?
Yes. Once you authorise us as your agent, HMRC writes to us as well as you, and we handle letters, enquiries, repayments and payment plans on your behalf.
I am married. Can we share our allowances?
If one of you earns less than the personal allowance and the other is a basic rate taxpayer, you can transfer £1,260 of allowance with the marriage allowance. Beyond that, how your savings, investments and property are owned between you often makes the bigger difference.
Rules and limits checked 9 October 2026.
Talk to us about your tax.
A free call with the team. We’ll contact you within 24 hours.