Use it or lose it – Monday Musings 17/01/2022

Although it seems impossible, we are approaching the year end again, April 5^th, so it is time to ensure that we have taken advantage of the various annual allowances, some of which cannot be carried forward to the next tax year. The usual suspects include: –

ISAs

you are allowed to invest up to £20,000 each tax year into ISAs, you are allowed to spread your £20,000 across the different types of ISAs but can only use one of each type each year. This allowance cannot be carried forward.

Pension contributions

You are allowed to invest up to £40,000 gross into pensions each tax year. If you make the maximum contribution in this tax year you can go back three years and use any unused allowance from those years.

Capital Gains Tax

You have an allowance of £12,300 in the current tax year. As with the ISA allowance you lose it if you don’t use it.

Inheritance Tax Allowances.

There are several IHT allowances which have to be used in the current tax year. However, the £3,000 annual allowance can be carried forward from the previous tax year.

It seems foolish not to use the available allowances and often they are not used because people do not understand how to. This is where it makes sense to use an Independent Financial Adviser. Your adviser can explain to you how the allowances work and the best vehicle to use in your own circumstances.

If you would like to get some advice on this or any other financial planning matter, please do get in touch.

So, to the markets

	31.12.2021	17.01.2022	% Change	% Change on week
FTSE 100	7384	7542	Up 2.13	Up 0.77
Dow Jones	36338	35911	Down 1.17	Down 0.88
Nasdaq	15645	14893	Down 4.80	Down 0.28
S&P	4766	4662	Down 2.18	Down 0.30
NIKKEI	28791	28124	Down 2.31	Down 1.30
Hang Seng	23398	24383	Up 4.20	Up 3.79
Shanghai	3640	3521	Down 3.26	Down 1.63
CAC 40	7153	7143	Down 0.13	Down 1.06
DAX	15885	15883	Down 0.01	Down 0.40