In the last Budget in March, it was announced that the Dividend Allowance of £5,000 would be reduced to £2,000 per year per person with effect from April 2018. The Dividend Allowance allows an individual to receive an amount of dividends without paying tax, regardless of their other income. Following the surprise announcement of a General Election to be held in June, certain pieces of legislation that were included in the Finance Bill have been dropped; and this is one of them. Comment This is good news for individuals who receive a large amount of dividends each year; particularly business owners who typically draw a low salary plus dividends. However, we know the government need to raise m

The Department for Work and Pensions has updated their guide entitled "Your State Pension Explained", which can be downloaded from the link below. Your State Pension Explained In our experience we have found a number of cases where individuals have not been credited with the correct number of qualifying years for the State Pension. We therefore strongly recommend obtaining a forecast and checking any years when you did not build up a credit. This can be done online, and my article at the link below explains how to do this. Obtain your State Pension Forecast Online Comment If you are not yet in receipt of your State Pension, we would urge you to register for a Personal Tax Account. This will

The new Investment Guaranteed Growth Bonds, announced by the Chancellor in the November 2016 Autumn Statement, have been launched today and are now on sale for 12 months, available online only. As confirmed by the Chancellor in the Budget on 8 March 2017, the Bonds offer a rate of 2.20% gross/AER, fixed over a 3-year term. The Bonds are available to those aged 16 or over, with a minimum investment of £100 and a maximum limit of £3,000 per person. For more information about the Investment Guaranteed Growth Bonds, click here. Comment While these bonds may be "market leading", the rate is hardly enticing and is only narrowly ahead of the competition. Certainly not as appealing as the Pens