You can top your ISA up to a maximum of £20,000 per year and you won’t pay tax on the interest, withdrawals or on any profits you make. These limits will remain in place until April 2030, so this is an excellent opportunity to make your money work harder in a tax-free environment. So, if you haven’t reached your limit for the year, it’s worth thinking about transferring some of your savings into your ISA to make sure your money’s working as hard as it can.

If you’re saving for a deposit to buy your first home, are you putting that money into a Lifetime ISA (LISA)? Because if not, you could be missing out on an annual bonus of £1,000, paid for by the government.

If you’re aged between 18 and 39 and haven’t yet bought your first home, you can save up to £4,000 a year and receive an extra 25% on top. The caveat is that you must use the money to buy a property below the maximum value of £450,000. Otherwise, you’ll face a penalty when you withdraw the money.

For savers who are confident they’ll use the money for a deposit on a qualifying property, a LISA a great way of getting on the property ladder faster.

Helping out friends and family with a financial gift can be extremely rewarding, as well as a good way to reduce a potential inheritance tax (IHT) bill.

The tax-free inheritance threshold is £325,000 per person, above which a 40% rate of tax is due (subject to other allowances).

You can give away up to £3,000 each tax year, free of any IHT liability. You can gift more, but if you died within seven years of the gift, the recipient of your generosity could find themselves subject to a hefty IHT bill. If you don’t use your gift allowance, you can carry it over to the following tax year, effectively allowing you to gift up to £6,000 without creating a tax liability.

There are other gift allowances too, such as wedding or civil partnership gifts of up to £5,000 to your children and £2,500 to your grandchildren.

For more on this, see Gifting in your lifetime to reduce inheritance tax

Parents and guardians can open a Junior ISA (JISA) for their child, with an annual limit of £9,000. A JISA is an excellent way to save monetary presents and gifts for your child’s future.

Just like a standard ISA, JISAs allow the money to grow tax-free, and the funds remain inaccessible until the child turns 18, providing a valuable nest egg for their future.

For more on children’s savings, see Savings and investments for children

A pension is one of the best ways to save for your retirement. The Annual Allowance for pension contributions has increased to £60,000 per year, allowing you to save more tax-free.

If you’re a UK taxpayer, you’ll receive 20% tax relief on your contributions as a basic-rate taxpayer, and up to 40% if you’re a higher-rate taxpayer. Additionally, the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) has risen from £4,000 to £10,000, giving greater flexibility for those who have already accessed their pensions.

If you haven’t maxed out your pension allowance yet, consider transferring savings into your pension before the start of the next tax year on 5 April to make the most of your tax-free allowance.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) applies to the profit you make when selling certain assets that have increased in value. This includes items like second homes, jewellery, antiques, or stocks and shares.

CGT becomes payable only on the gain made—this is the difference between the purchase price and the selling price of the asset.

For the current tax year, you have a tax-free CGT allowance of £3,000, after which the rate you pay depends on your income tax band: 18% for basic-rate taxpayers and 24% for higher-rate taxpayers.

Unlike other allowances, such as the gifting allowance, unused CGT allowances cannot be carried over to future tax years. To optimise your tax efficiency, you might consider spreading the sale of assets over multiple years to fully utilise your annual tax-free allowance.

If you need advice on managing your finances, be it tax-efficient investing or planning for retirement, an Amber River consultant will take a holistic view of your life, your ambitions, and your current financial situation, and map out a plan that helps you achieve your goals.

To speak to one of our team, arrange an appointment or find out more, call 0800 915 0000, or alternatively use our contact form here.