Pension and Corporation Tax planning

Sunday, 5th December 2010 11:40 - by Resident IFA

According to Companies House, ... ... December 31st is the second most popular business accounting year end. Unsurprisingly, March 31st – near the April 5th general tax-year end – is the most popular business accounting year end. What am I aiming at here? Simply to point out that you (if a Company Director with a December 31st date) only have a few weeks left to potentially make a Pension contribution...which is offset against (lowers) your Corporation Tax bill. Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) will condone this as tax-efficient...as I am sure will your Accountant too! If you miss this deadline, you will have to wait another 12 months to see the tax benefit of such action. This aside, there is the Financial Planning benefit of taking control of your Pension and Retirement destiny. How much difference will, say, a £20,000 contribution make to your retirement income? Do you know what your Pension plan(s) are on track to provide you with in retirement? When was the last time you reviewed your Pension planning? As always, I urge people to take ownership of their Financial Planning (who else will?!) and seek appropriate professional guidance, where needed. This will help you understand where your money is invested, the risk & reward connotations of such an approach, the scope for varied/different investment approaches, and targeting potential income and/or retirement age lifestyle goals. Until next time...