🟣🟢 Simple wins

👋 Hello

In this week’s Financial Stuff:

•  🌳 Take a proper look

• ❓ How to get paid (tax free) from your own company

• 🥱 This week’s Budget rumour mill

Let’s get started 👇

I’ve walked the woods near my house so many times. I know all the little paths inside out.

Or so I thought.

Because yesterday I noticed, for the first time ever, the most beautiful majestic oak tree.

It’s probably been there for decades. Yet somehow I’ve managed to breeze past it on countless dog walks without really seeing it.

It stopped me in my tracks. Not just because it was stunning, but because it reminded me how easy it is to miss things that are right in front of us.

We get used to the familiar things in life and business.

We keep doing what we know.

But occasionally there’s something sitting quietly at the edge of the path that deserves a proper look.

Which brings me to this week’s topic.

A simple, often overlooked strategy that many business owners could use far more effectively.

🏧 Charging your own company interest when you’ve lent it money.

Most people think of extracting profits through salary or dividends.

But when you lend money to your company, you can charge it interest. You’re acting like its bank. And done properly, this can be surprisingly tax efficient.

For the company, interest is usually a deductible expense, so it can reduce corporation tax.

For you, there’s no National Insurance.

And depending on how your income is structured, you may be able to receive some, or even all, of that interest tax-free.

🍰 The sweet spot

If your salary sits below the personal allowance (£12,570), you open up two allowances that are often forgotten.

• The starting rate for savings. Up to £5,000 of interest taxed at zero.

• The personal savings allowance. Another £1,000 if you are a basic rate taxpayer (£500 as a higher rate taxpayer).

Put those together and you could receive up to £6,000 of interest with no income tax. The company still gets the corporation tax deduction.

If your spouse is also involved in the business, or simply not using their own allowances, the same logic applies to them.

There are often opportunities to share this efficiently between you.

💷 What HMRC expects

There are a few rules to follow if you want the company to claim the deduction. Nothing dramatic, but worth knowing.

1. The money you lent needs to have been used wholly and exclusively for the business.

2. The interest must be paid within twelve months of the year-end.

3. The rate needs to be commercial. In practice, check what a bank would charge a small business loan, then add a per cent or two to reflect your personal risk.

💼 The admin

There is a small compliance piece.

The company has to withhold 20 per cent tax from the interest payment and send it to HMRC on a CT61.

You then receive a credit on your own tax return. It’s not difficult, just one of those forms most people don’t come across until they need it.

❓ Why this matters

This is one of those financial planning ideas that hides in plain sight.

You’ve already helped your company by lending it money.

This gives you a way to be rewarded for that support, often very tax efficiently, without increasing payroll costs or pushing up dividend tax.

A quick round up of…

🧰 Budget Rumour Mill: What’s Rubbish, What’s Real, What to Watch

❓ What’s been rumoured…

💭 Tax-Free Cash 25% pension lump sum could be cut

💭 Income tax rise of 2% paired with cut to National Insurance

💭 Pension Tax Relief salary-sacrifice perks under review

💭 ISAs allowance cuts or merging into a single “super-ISA”

💭 Inheritance Tax tougher gifting rules, thresholds frozen

💭 Property Taxes CGT or council tax tweaks for high-value homes

💭 Wealth/Exit Tax on ultra-wealthy’s assets, or tax when leaving the UK

💭 Bank Levies possible surcharges on the banks

❓ What’s been quashed (for now)…

✅ Treasury ruled out cutting the tax-free pension cash (£268,275 cap stays)

✅ Income tax rise with NI cut dropped after fierce party resistance

✅ Senior ministers have distanced themselves from a wealth tax (making it less probable)

❓ What’s still in play…

⚠️ Salary sacrifice limits or NI changes likely under review

⚠️ Inheritance tax rules and frozen thresholds could tighten

⚠️ CGT / property tax reform talk still swirling

⚠️ Council tax on high-value homes could rise in 2026

⚠️ Bank levy tweak possible to boost revenue

🧭 Don’t act on gossip. Patience often pays more than panic. Keep your long-term plan intact, and wait for facts on 26 November.

😎 THAT’S IT FOR THIS WEEK

If you have any questions at all, do ping me a reply or get in touch 👇

Hilary 😉

P.S. WHAT ELSE? 👉 Book a call with me here (or if you prefer, call one of my team on 0117 9629696) and I’ll help you make sense of what you’ve got and what it could be doing for you.

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