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
  • INCOME TAX
  • CAPITAL GAINS TAX
  • INHERITANCE TAX
  • PROPERTY TAX
  • TRUST PLANNING & FAMILY INVESTMENT COMPANIES

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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    Carol Edwards, author of blog about the foreign income and gains regime

    Foreign Income and Gains Regime: Everything you need to know

    The somewhat controversial concept of ‘domicile’ to establish UK tax liability has now been abolished. Instead, the Labour government has introduced an alternative tax break, aimed at those who, are perhaps long-term British expats, interested in returning to the UK,…

    By Carol Edwards

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  2. Blog26th May 2025

    Natalie Butler, Private Client Manager working in the Aberdeen office

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  3. Blog6th May 2025

    Lynn Gracie, Private Client International Tax Director, author of blog about Scottish tax receipts

    Scottish Tax Receipts- The Cost of Tax Policy Differences

    We have now entered the 9th tax year in which HM Revenue and Customs operates separate Scottish tax rates for non-savings income. It’s fair to say that the divergence of UK tax rates has become more significant in recent years,…

    By Lynn Gracie

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  4. Blog2nd Apr 2025

    Lynn Gracie, Private Client Partner and author of blog about spring statement 2025

    Spring Statement 2025: What Was The Tax Impact?

    The impact of the recent Spring statement can be more readily understood when placed within the wider context of the current UK tax policy. In particular, it’s worth noting that sweeping changes to tax legislation had already been announced by…

    By Lynn Gracie and Jill Walker

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UNITED KINGDOM + IRELAND + INTERNATIONAL