2024 is coming to a close and before we know it, a new tax year will be upon us too!

The 2024/25 tax year will come to an end on 5 April 2025, with 6 April 2025 marking the start of the new tax year.

So, whether you’re filling in dates and deadlines in your 2025 diary or looking to make productive use of some downtime between Christmas and New Year, here are some tasks to add to your list to make sure you’re ready for the new tax year.

Sort Out Your Self-Assessment

If you’re required to complete a Self Assessment tax return and have not yet submitted a paper return for tax year 23/24, you must complete an online Self Assessment and pay any tax you owe by 31 January 2025. Failure to do so may result in penalty fines.

If you’re not sure whether or not you’re required to submit a Self Assessment, you can check on the HMRC website. 

You must submit a Self Assessment if, during the relevant tax year:

• you were self-employed as a sole trader and earned more than £1,000 before tax relief; or
• you were a partner in a business partnership; or
• you had a total taxable income of more than £150,000; or
• you had to pay Capital Gains Tax; or
• you had to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

You may be required to submit a Self Assessment if, during the relevant tax year, you received untaxed income from:

• renting out a property you own; or
• tips or commissions; or
• savings, investments or dividends; or
• foreign income.

Take Advantage of Allowances

Tax allowances are re-set at the beginning of each financial year, so now is the time to act to ensure you receive the maximum possible benefit from your 24/25 allowances, such as:

• ISA allowances - These savings accounts offer additional saving capacity over and above your standard personal savings allowance, and they’re also shielded from income and capital gains taxes. The ISA allowance for tax year 24/25 is £20,000, or £9,000 for a Junior ISA.
• Pension contributions - While there’s no limit to the contributions you can pay into your pension, savers are entitled to tax relief on some portion of the pension contributions they make, an amount set in the annual pension tax relief allowance. For tax year 24/25, this annual allowance is up to £60,000. Contributions must be paid by 5 April in the relevant tax year, however it may be possible to carry forward any unused allowance for up to three years under certain circumstances, and personalised advice from an independent financial adviser can help you make a significant boost to your pension savings. 
• Capital Gains Tax allowance - Capital Gains Tax is payable when you sell, gift or otherwise dispose of an asset that’s risen in value while you’ve owned it. The rate payable is calculated using different tax brackets than Income Tax and differs depending on whether or not the asset in question was a residential property, which attracts a higher rate. An annual allowance applies, however, meaning that no Capital Gains Tax is payable on gains equal to or under that amount. For 24/25, the Capital Gains Tax allowance is £3,000.

Brush Up On Business-Owning Obligations

Business owners have a number of tax year end tasks and should make note of any discrepancy between their own company accounting dates and the national tax year end.

Tasks to schedule in will include:

• drawing dividend from the company to maximise personal tax efficiencies.
• running a final payroll and submitting the last Full Payment Submission (FPS).
• any quarterly or annual VAT returns which coincide with year-end periods.
• preparing to submit annual accounts, including chasing unpaid invoices, gathering statements and filing expense receipts. 

If you’d like support on preparing for the end of tax year 24/25, or to speak to an expert about how you can take your financial planning from strength to strength in the new tax year, get in touch with us for a free no-obligation friendly chat to see how we can help. 

McCrea Financial Services is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.