Tax Planning

Your tax affairs don’t stop at completing a Tax Return. Tax planning impacts all areas of your financial considerations, from managing tax exposure when selling an asset to deciding how your estate should pass down through the generations.  

Lynn

Lynn Gracie

Private Client International Tax Partner

Contact Lynn Meet the team

Who we can help

  • ENTREPRENEURS
  • HIGH NET WORTH INDIVIDUALS
  • INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE CLIENTS

How we can help

  • PERSONAL TAX
  • TAX COMPLIANCE
  • CHARITABLE GIVING
  • TAX RESIDENCE & DOMICILE
  • PROPERTY TAX
  • SCOTTISH TAXPAYERS
  • PARTNERSHIPS
  • TRUST PLANNING & FAMILY INVESTMENT COMPANIES
  • INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE CLIENT TAX

PROACTIVE, PERSONAL & PRACTICAL

Speak with our team

Your tax affairs will be unique to you, so we will adopt a bespoke, blank canvas approach to finding the most appropriate and tax-efficient answers for your personal needs.  

The experience of advising numerous clients over many years tells us the most effective results are achieved by getting to know you, and your hopes for the future, so we can suggest tax planning strategies that protect and realise the value of your assets. 

Our expert team covers all aspects of tax planning, including: 

  • Income tax 
  • Capital Gains Tax 
  • Inheritance Tax 
  • Succession and estate planning 
  • Trusts and Family Investment Companies 

REVIEWING & MINIMISING YOUR INCOME TAX

Tax legislation is complex and frequently changes, which may leave you wondering if you’re utilising all the various reliefs and benefits available to you. As we always keep up to date with the latest rule changes, we can give you timely advice and our latest thinking on all aspects of reducing your tax liability. 

We can advise you on tax efficient investments such as EIS, SEIS and VCTs, the reliefs we can claim for you personally and your family, and advising on the availability of relief on pension contributions, in line with the current limits. If you derive some of your income from property, our specialists will be able to advise you on the most tax-efficient approach.  

And yes, we will be delighted to complete your self-assessment tax return for you. 

Contact our tax team for advice

  • I contemplated transferring my business to a limited company and I knew I could rely on AAB to make the process as straightforward as possible whilst providing the accounts and tax advice to enable me to make the right decision.

    Colin Brown

  • The firm's IHT, Trusts and Estates team provided me with highly innovative solutions which produced the exact result that I requested. I asked many, many questions along the way – all of which were ably answered by the team.

    James Thom

  • "I have been very much looked after by the Private Client team for a number of years now. Managed by experienced individuals, they are able to provide that sometimes elusive, bespoke, one to one professional advice.

    Joanna Robertson

  • The efforts of the team ensured that timely planning could be undertaken to the overall benefit of my family. AAB clearly demonstrated their expertise here and proved why it is always worth getting the best professionals on the job!

    Keith Fletcher

DON’T BE CAUGHT OUT BY CAPITAL GAINS TAX

From selling your business to disposing of shares, planning for and seeking ways to reduce Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is essential if you are intending to dispose of assets. Many people are unaware that even simply gifting an asset can trigger a liability to CGT.  

We can advise on a range of reliefs, including Business Asset Disposal Relief (formerly Entrepreneurs’ Relief), Holdover Relief and Rollover Relief as well as managing the timing of disposals to ensure any transaction is as tax efficient as possible. If you expect to undertake property transactions in the near future, we recommend you seek our advice at an early stage, so we can make you fully aware of the CGT implications and formulate a plan to minimise them. 

Help with capital gains tax? Speak with us

INHERITANCE TAX – THE LEGACY YOU DON’T WANT TO LEAVE

When planning to pass on your wealth to your family, it’s important to balance your desire to maintain your standard of living with providing generously for future generations. Inheritance Tax (IHT) doesn’t just come into play on your death, but can also affect you now.  

For example, if you currently own or have an interest in a business, you could potentially use Business Relief to reduce its value when calculating IHT. This could result in a substantial reduction to the IHT payable by your loved ones, therefore saving you having to divest yourself of money or assets during your lifetime to achieve the same goal. 

We can help by quantifying your current exposure to IHT, providing guidance on a range of IHT mitigation strategies, including charitable giving, lifetime giving and Trusts and Family Investment Companies, and considering the interaction of IHT with other taxes. 

Ask us about inheritance tax

MORE THOUGHTS ON SUCCESSION & ESTATE PLANNING

It often happens that parents or close relatives will give younger members of the family an asset, such as land or property, but continue using it themselves. If that’s something you’ve done or were thinking of doing, then beware – you may be liable to POAT (Pre-Owned Assets Tax). POAT is payable annually, which may come as an unwelcome surprise, but there are ways to avoid it. We can advise on how estate planning can achieve this. 

With estate and succession planning, there is an obvious crossover with other aspects such as ensuring your Will is up to date and reflects any tax-efficiency changes you have made. We work closely with other professionals, such as lawyers, land agents, stock brokers, bankers and financial advisors, whose services we can recommend to enable you to benefit from joined-up, practical and convenient advice. 

Reach out about our tax services

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    Paul Halliday, author of blog on how to maximise tax relief

    Looking to maximise tax relief? Top up your pension before 5 April

    The tax year end brings all forms of tax planning into sharp focus, particularly maximising pension contributions to ensure available allowances are fully utilised and any unused allowances are not lost after 6th April. Any financial advisor will tell you…

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  3. Blog5th Dec 2024

    Carol Edwards, author of blog about furnished holiday let changes

    The 31 January 2025 Filing Deadline – Self Assessment

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  4. Blog5th Dec 2024

    Scottish budget 2025/26

    Scottish Budget 2025/26 – What are the Key Tax Takeaways

    Compared to Labour’s Autumn statement, the Scottish Budget had relatively few tax policy announcements, focusing instead on their plans to spend revenue in this financial year. The key Scottish devolved tax changes set out by the SNP were as follows:…

    By Lynn Gracie and Jill Walker

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