The new year marks our move into the final months of the tax year; a time when many businesses face a familiar but increasingly challenging environment. Margins are tighter than they were a few years ago, thresholds remain frozen, borrowing costs are higher, and both HMRC and regulators continue to invest more efforts into ensuring compliance.
Against that backdrop, year-end tax planning is less about clever strategies and more about making sure the basics are reviewed in good time. The recent Budget reinforced two themes that are now well established for the foreseeable: allowances and thresholds remain constrained, pulling more people into higher tax bands; and planning matters more than ever because there is less room for error or delay.
Our aim is to help as many businesses and individuals as we can to prepare. In that spirit, we’ve created a practical checklist to help you plan all that you can, before the end of the financial year on 5th April 2026.
Three things everyone needs to review
Before providing you with some sector specific recommendations, there are a few universal questions that apply to almost everyone. And you should pay these due consideration before the end of the tax year:
- Are you fully using allowances that cannot be carried forward?
Some tax-free allowances are lost if not used within the tax year. Reviewing these before 5 April can prevent missed opportunities that cannot be recovered later.
- Are income and expenses falling in the most sensible tax year?
The timing of income, bonuses, costs, or expenditure can make a meaningful difference. Small shifts, where commercially sensible, can help to manage tax exposure more effectively.
- Are you setting aside ample funds for upcoming liabilities?
With interest rates higher, cash flow planning is just as important as tax planning. Ensuring funds are available for tax payments avoids unnecessary pressure later in the year.
Owner-managed businesses and startups: profits, pay and cash flow
For owner-managed businesses, year-end planning is about making informed decisions. Before 5 April, it’s worth looking at:
- Whether the balance between salary and dividends still makes sense.
- The timing of bonuses or director remuneration.
- Whether profits are being extracted without fully considering tax bands and thresholds.
- Cash reserves in relation to upcoming corporation tax and personal tax due dates.
With business tax thresholds frozen and costs rising, reviewing extraction strategies before year end helps you to avoid unintended tax charges and cash flow strain.
Construction and manufacturing
These sectors continue to attract close attention and scrutiny from HMRC. This means that accurate and well-supported year-end figures are particularly important. Key areas for you to review, include:
- Large capital purchases made during the year and whether capital allowances can be claimed.
- Whether profits are unusually high or low compared to previous years, and how drawings or dividends are planned as a result.
- The accuracy of CIS deductions, stock values, and work in progress figures before the year closes.
Property owners and landlords
The tax landscape for property owners has been tightening gradually and will likely continue to do so over the coming years. Year-end planning now, will help you to avoid being caught out in the future.
Before 5 April, consider:
- Reviewing rental profits now that allowances are more limited.
- The timing of property disposals or sizeable expenditure.
- Whether capital losses or annual exemptions can be used effectively.
- Preparing for future digital reporting requirements, even if they do not yet apply (it’s coming to us all!).
Medical professionals and solicitors
For professionals operating in partnerships or practices, tax planning works most effectively when it’s joined up. There are various regulatory changes and other pressures affecting you, for example with GP pensions, but time spent on planning will truly make a difference. Areas to review include:
- Whether partnership drawings align with actual profits.
- Pension contributions as part of the overall tax position – not as an afterthought.
- Income levels that may risk tapering allowances or pushing you into higher tax bands.
- Planning ahead rather than relying solely on payments on account.
Charities
For charities, year-end planning is less about reducing tax and more about being prudent for the future. Trustees and management teams should consider:
- Whether reporting thresholds are understood ahead of the year end.
- Reviewing restricted and unrestricted funds.
- Ensuring Gift Aid claims are accurate, complete and up to date.
- Preparing for changes in reporting expectations and regulatory oversight.
Addressing these points before the year closes helps reduce compliance risks and governance concerns.
Individuals
For individuals, year-end planning doesn’t need to be complex, but it does benefit from being done in a timely manner. You should review:
- The use of pension allowances, particularly where an income tax threshold is likely to be breached
- Use of ISA allowances.
- Potential transfers of assets or income between spouses or civil partners.
- Planning capital disposals rather than reacting after the year end.
Small, well-timed actions before 5 April can have a lasting impact on your overall tax position.
Year-end tax planning does not need to involve major restructuring or complex calculations. In most cases, it is about taking a little bit of time to review what has happened during the year and making sure you haven’t missed anything important.
With allowances tight and scrutiny increasing, planning matters more than ever – but it’s called planning for a reason; it does need to happen before the tax year ends. If you would like to discuss any of the points above, or chat through how recent Budget measures could affect you and your business, now is the right time to do so. Please get in touch to arrange a confidential conversation.