Tax Year-End Investment Checklist: 11 Actions Before 5 April

The UK tax year ends on 5 April, and the weeks preceding it represent one of the most practically important planning windows in an investor's annual calendar. Tax allowances, reliefs, and wrappers that are not used by this date are lost permanently — they cannot be carried forward to the following year, with a small number of exceptions.

For sophisticated investors managing significant portfolios, the tax year-end review can generate material savings in Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, and Inheritance Tax, and can materially improve the long-run after-tax performance of a portfolio. This guide sets out the key actions to consider, in rough order of priority and materiality.

This guide is for educational purposes only. Tax rules change frequently and are subject to individual circumstances. The figures cited reflect the tax year 2026/27 position as understood at June 2026 — always verify current allowances and rates with a qualified tax adviser before acting.

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1. Use the ISA Allowance

Annual ISA allowance: £20,000 per person

The ISA subscription limit resets on 6 April each year, but unused allowance from the prior year is permanently lost. Contributing as close to the start of the tax year as possible maximises the tax-free compounding period, but there is value in contributing at any point before 5 April.

Practical actions:

• Make sure both you and your spouse or civil partner have contributed to your respective ISAs — that is £40,000 combined, sheltered permanently from future Income Tax and CGT.
• Consider the Junior ISA for children — £9,000 per child per year, in either Cash or Stocks and Shares format.
• If the full allowance cannot be contributed in cash before year-end, consider bed-and-ISA (selling existing holdings and repurchasing inside the ISA) to maximise the year's allowance.

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2. Pension Contributions and Carry Forward

Annual pension allowance: £60,000 (most taxpayers), minimum £10,000 (tapered high earners)

Pension contributions are the single most powerful tax relief available to UK taxpayers. A higher-rate (40%) taxpayer contributing £10,000 net to a SIPP receives £12,500 gross in the pension fund, with the government topping up £2,500 in basic-rate relief and the individual reclaiming a further £2,500 through self-assessment — effectively a £5,000 tax saving on a £10,000 personal outlay.

Carry-forward: unused annual allowance from the preceding three tax years can be added to the current year's allowance, permitting potentially very large pension contributions in a single year. The three-year carry-forward window means allowance from 2023/24 expires on 5 April 2027 — if you have unused allowance from that year, it must be used before year-end or lost.

Practical actions:

• Calculate your remaining 2026/27 annual allowance and consider maximising it, particularly if earnings are high this year.
• Review carry-forward availability for the prior three years — particularly valuable following a business sale, large bonus, or other high-income event.
• Check whether the tapered annual allowance applies (adjusted income above £260,000) — the calculation is complex and specialist advice is advisable.
• Employer pension contributions can also be used against the annual allowance (and are typically more tax-efficient for company owners, as they reduce Corporation Tax too).

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3. Capital Gains Tax: Annual Exempt Amount

Annual CGT exempt amount: £3,000 per person

The CGT annual exempt amount allows individuals to realise up to £3,000 of capital gains per tax year without paying Capital Gains Tax. This allowance cannot be carried forward and is permanently lost if not used.

At current CGT rates (24% for higher and additional-rate taxpayers on most investment gains), using the full £3,000 exemption is worth up to £720 per person per year — modest individually, but over decades of consistent use, the cumulative saving and the compound growth on avoided tax payments can be material.

Practical actions:

• Review your portfolio for unrealised gains. If gains are below £3,000, consider whether it is appropriate to crystallise some by selling and repurchasing (bed-and-ISA is the most efficient version of this).
• Both spouses can use their £3,000 exemption — assets can be transferred between spouses at no gain/no loss before the disposal, allowing the full combined exemption to be utilised.

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4. Capital Loss Harvesting

Capital losses crystallised by selling loss-making investments can be set against capital gains in the same or future tax years (losses can be carried forward indefinitely, unlike the annual exempt amount). Deliberately realising losses before year-end — to offset against gains already taken in the same year — is known as tax-loss harvesting.

Practical actions:

• Review the portfolio for unrealised losses and consider whether any are likely to recover. If an asset has deteriorated in investment quality as well as value, crystallising the loss and reinvesting in a better alternative is rational from both an investment and a tax perspective.
• The 30-day rule: selling a security and repurchasing the same security within 30 days does not trigger a new base cost — HMRC treats the transaction as if no disposal occurred. To crystallise a genuine loss, you must either wait 30 days before repurchasing the same security, purchase a genuinely different (not "bed and breakfast") alternative, or direct your spouse to purchase the security (spousal purchases are not caught by the 30-day rule).

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5. Bed and ISA

Selling existing investments held outside the ISA and repurchasing them inside the ISA (using that year's subscription allowance) is one of the most structurally valuable year-end actions available. Once the shares are within the ISA, all future gains and income are permanently sheltered from UK tax.

Practical considerations:

• Bed-and-ISA crystallises any existing gain on the holding (subject to the annual exempt amount and available losses). The long-term tax saving on all future growth typically outweighs the immediate CGT cost for assets with modest gains.
• Spouses can double the effective bed-and-ISA capacity by each using their own annual allowance.
• Timing: bed-and-ISA should ideally be executed with a few days to spare before 5 April, as settlement of the sale must complete and the ISA subscription must be received before year-end.

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6. Dividend Allowance

Dividend allowance: £500 per person

The dividend allowance (reduced significantly from its original £5,000 level in recent years) permits individuals to receive up to £500 in dividends annually without paying Dividend Tax. Above this allowance, dividend income is taxed at 8.75% (basic rate), 33.75% (higher rate), or 39.35% (additional rate).

For investors holding high-yielding assets outside tax-advantaged wrappers, the dividend allowance is modest but should be ensured to be fully utilised.

Practical action:

• For investors receiving dividends near the threshold, consider whether those assets belong inside an ISA or SIPP (where dividends are sheltered entirely) rather than in a general account where they are taxed above the allowance.

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7. VCT: Tax Relief Subscriptions Window

VCT income tax relief: 30% on up to £200,000 per year

Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) offer 30% income tax relief on new subscriptions (up to £200,000 per year), provided the investor holds the shares for at least five years. Dividends from VCTs are tax-free, and disposal gains are exempt from CGT.

VCTs raise new capital in tranches — typically announced November through March — and the most popular tranches fill quickly. The year-end deadline (the relief is claimed against the current year's income tax liability) creates a predictable rush of subscriptions in February and March.

Practical actions:

• Determine whether any outstanding income tax liability could be reduced through VCT subscription before 5 April. The relief is significant but the holding period and investment risk must be accepted.
• Do not subscribe to VCTs purely for the tax relief without genuine evaluation of the underlying fund manager's track record and investment approach. VCT portfolios invest in early-stage UK businesses — they can lose money, and the tax relief does not guarantee a positive net return.
• VCT subscriptions require careful review of the specific terms of each offering, including fees, investment policy, and manager quality.

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8. EIS and SEIS: Deferral and Relief

Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) investments attract 30% income tax relief (up to £1 million per year, £2 million if the company is a "knowledge-intensive company") and defer CGT on gains rolled into the investment. Seed EIS (SEIS) provides 50% income tax relief on up to £200,000 per year.

These reliefs must be claimed against income in the tax year of investment (or carried back one year). Year-end is a natural prompt to review whether EIS or SEIS investments made or planned could be deployed before 5 April to utilise current-year relief.

Practical actions:

• If a large capital gain was realised during the tax year, EIS can defer the CGT indefinitely (until the EIS shares are sold, at which point the deferred gain crystallises). Combining EIS subscription with a large CGT event is a well-established planning strategy.
• EIS and SEIS investments are high-risk — they involve early-stage, often illiquid companies. Tax reliefs do not offset the risk of capital loss. Only genuinely risk-tolerant investors with appropriate time horizons should use these vehicles.

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9. Carry Forward Salary into Pension (Director/Business Owner Specific)

For company directors, the mechanism of contribution timing matters. Employer pension contributions paid from the company before the company's year-end receive Corporation Tax relief in the relevant accounting year. The interaction between the personal tax year (ending 5 April) and the company accounting year (which may differ) requires coordinated planning.

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10. Review and Rebalance Across Wrappers

Year-end is a natural moment to review the overall asset allocation across ISA, SIPP, onshore bonds, offshore bonds, and general investment accounts, and to assess:

• Whether the asset location (which assets are in which wrapper) remains tax-efficient
• Whether the portfolio has drifted significantly from its target allocation due to differential performance
• Whether any structural changes — new investment vehicles, change of domicile, major life events — require strategic portfolio adjustments

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11. Gifts Out of Surplus Income (IHT Planning)

Regular gifts made from surplus income (not capital) are exempt from Inheritance Tax immediately — they do not use the £3,000 annual gift exemption and are not subject to the seven-year rule. This is one of the most powerful, and underused, IHT exemptions available.

To qualify, the gifts must be habitual (regular), out of income (not capital), and not reduce the donor's standard of living. Keeping records — a simple annual schedule showing income, expenditure, and gifts — is essential to substantiate the exemption if challenged by HMRC.

Year-end is a sensible moment to review regular giving programmes, particularly for those with significant pension income or investment income that exceeds living expenditure.

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How Global Investments Can Help

Global Investments provides integrated investment management and financial planning for high-net-worth individuals and families. Our advisers are experienced in UK tax year-end planning and work with clients' existing tax advisers to ensure investment decisions are taken within a clear tax-efficient framework.

We help clients with ISA and SIPP contribution planning, carry-forward pension calculations, bed-and-ISA execution, VCT and EIS opportunity assessment, and portfolio rebalancing across multiple wrappers — all in the context of long-term investment strategy rather than as isolated year-end exercises.

To arrange a year-end portfolio review before 5 April, please contact our advisory team.

This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute personal financial advice. Tax rules, allowances, and rates may change. The figures stated reflect the 2026/27 position as understood at June 2026 and should be verified against current HMRC guidance. VCT, EIS, and SEIS investments are high-risk. ISA and pension rules are subject to change. Please seek qualified professional tax and financial advice before acting on any of the strategies described.