Prepare for the UK Autumn Budget

The UK budget is coming on 30^th October as you are almost certainly aware of. The amount of noise, rumours, briefings, spin and press commentary ahead of the event has been unprecedented. However, until Rachel Reeves finishes speaking no-one can be certain of what will change; Here are some thoughts:

1) Have you maxed out the amount you can invest in “tax-wrapper”? You can do so in our ISA and SIPP accounts. [Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future]

2) If you have unrealized capital gains, have you considered crystallising those now (by selling) so as to lock in the current CGT rates, rather than risk a big hike in CGT next week? We have seen an increasing amount of these trades in the last week.

3) Are you aware that no CGT is payable on the capital gains made from investing in UK Gilts (bonds) ? Whilst the % returns are low, we have seen many of our VIP clients tucking money away in low coupon Gilts… this is because the majority of the investment gain is capital not income, and hence tax free if you are a UK tax payer [coupon is income, whereas if you buy a bond at 95p that matures at 100p, that 5p profit is a capital gain]

4) If you own any AIM listed stocks, have you read about the potential changes in that space ?

5) Have you seen any of the Saxo strategy pieces recently? Here is a good read from our head of fixed income, Althea: 

 https://www.home.saxo/en-gb/content/articles/bonds/prepare-for-the-uk-autumn-budget-24102024

6) If you have complex affairs, inheritance tax considerations etc, have you considered paying for specialist advice? Using Saxo and then paying an hourly rate for advice will most likely end up far cheaper than using a wealth manager or IFA who charges you a % of your assets.

7) Have you seen our newly enhanced news section on the platform / app? There are lots of informative articles on there from the likes of Wall St. Journal (Dow Jones). Well worth keeping an eye on in the runup to next weeks Budget.