🟣🟢 Waiting for the details...

🌅 Happy Sunday 👋

I’m writing this after an early morning walk on the Downs with my (nearly) 4 month old puppy, Ottie.

It’s not a particularly relaxing walk at the moment, she’s far too energetic and bouncy, but just being out in the fresh air and focusing on something completely different is what I needed.

You might wonder what relevance this has in a ‘Financial Stuff’ newsletter…

Well, the reason is that I’ve caught myself feeling a little unsettled in the days following the Budget on Wednesday. So a

And I know that I’m not alone.

We’ve had weeks of speculation and rumours.

And now we’ve had the Budget it should be okay because now we know what we’re dealing with don’t we?

But no. We don’t really. Not completely.

Yes we know that NI and CGT has gone up, and there will be 1p off beer.

But we don’t have the full facts on pensions and inheritance tax. They’ve told us the headlines but not the details.

And that has resulted in even more (possibly worse) speculation about how it might work.

Clickbait headlines such as ‘Families face 70pc tax on pensions’ from the Telegraph are not helpful. And in most cases will be wrong - as long as people don’t panic.

And take their time to 1) wait for the full details and 2) look at all the options and 3) have a proper thought through strategy in place, before taking any action.

Also, transfers between spouses on death still remain exempt.

Let’s also remember a core financial planning principle: your long-term financial security should always be the foundation of any decisions you make.

While tax planning is a crucial component of sound financial planning, it shouldn't be the sole driver of our strategies.

And we have 126 weeks (884 days) until the 6 April 2027.

So don’t let the way the media is talking lead you to think there will be an immediate 70% tax charge on your pension fund from that date.

Because of course there won’t be.

And let’s remember to keep calm and keep planning.

I’m happy to talk if you need some help with this…

🎯 BUSINESS OWNERS STRATEGIES
Navigating new tax rules…

If your future business exit strategy involves selling your business the autumn budget has introduced some key changes to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) that will impact that.

🟪 Increase in main CGT rates:

The main rates of Capital Gains Tax will increase from 10% to 18% for the lower rate and from 20% to 24% for the higher rate, effective immediately.

🟪 Changes to Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR):

The BADR rate (formerly known as Entrepreneurs' Relief) will increase in two stages:

• From 10% to 14% on April 6, 2025

• From 14% to 18% on April 6, 2026

🟪 Lifetime limit remains unchanged:

The lifetime limit for BADR remains at £1 million. This limit was reduced from £10 million to £1 million in April 2020.

🟪 Impact on business sales:

For businesses valued under £1 million, the tax implications of selling will change significantly over the next two years:

• Currently: 10% CGT rate under BADR

• From April 2025: 14% CGT rate

• From April 2026: 18% CGT rate

🟪 Timing considerations:

If you were already planning to sell your business you may want to consider accelerating the sale before April 2025 to benefit from the current lower 10% rate.

🟪 Higher-value businesses:

If your business is valued over £1 million, the changes are more immediate.

While the first £1 million of gains can still qualify for BADR (subject to eligibility), any gains above this amount will now be taxed at the new higher rate of 24% (up from 20%).

🟪 Maximise Pension Contributions to reduce share value:

Use company pension contributions to move money tax efficiently from your company to a pension fund.

The contributions will be allowable against corporation tax and the funds will grow free of income tax and capital gains tax.

🚀 INVESTMENT MARKETS
Unimportant vs Important Numbers…

🎯2024 AUTUMN BUDGET
In case you still want to read about the Budget…

😎AND FINALLY
This week on Youtube…

In this week’s video, I’m talking about Risk Mitigation in How to Protect your Business and why its so important.

Check it out here 👇👇👇

As always, I hope you found this helpful.

If you have any questions at all, drop me a note.

Hilary 😎

P.S Whenever you’re ready maybe I can help: Book a Discovery call and find out if we can help you

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