Important Tax Changes for Furnished Holiday Let Owners: What Married Couples and Civil Partners need to know before April 2025
If you and your spouse or civil partner own a Furnished Holiday Let (FHL) property together, you may be familiar with the current rules that allow you to split the income from the property in whatever proportion you choose. However, changes coming in April 2025 could affect how you manage your property income and tax obligations.
New Year is the perfect time to review your financial health as well as your personal health
The new year is the perfect time to spring clean your finances, says David Haughton of Lovewell Blake Financial Planning.
Did you know: that as a result of long-term illness or injury, statistics show that 59% of people would last less than 12 months without their income, and 43% would struggle within 6 months?
Statutory Sick Pay is currently £116.75 per week. That is less than a third of the weekly take-home pay of someone on the adult minimum wage. SSP is only paid for the first 28 weeks of sickness, and is only payable from the fourth day of illness.
Did you know: that you can nominate beneficiaries for your pension? This ensures that, when you die, any unused pension pot isn’t lost and can pass on according to your wishes.
The recent Budget has focussed attention on what happens to a pension when the pension holder dies.
Seek support to maximise gift aid opportunities
A new report has highlighted a multi-million pound funding gap caused by inconsistent take-up of Gift Aid – which is shocking when many charities are struggling to make ends meet.
Did you know: that since 2015, ‘pensions freedoms’ allow you to access your pension pot from age 55? You can take it as a lump sum, drawdown regular amounts or buy a fixed income with an annuity.
The rules on how you can withdraw money from your pension pot became a great deal more flexible in 2015, allowing you to access your pension from the age of 55, rising to 57 in 2028 (those suffering significant ill health may be able to access their fund even earlier than that).
Did you know: that life expectancy is increasing, which means you might need a larger pension pot to maintain your ideal lifestyle in retirement?
Advances in medical science, coupled with healthier lifestyles, means that average life expectancy continues to rise. In the ten years from 2011 to 2021, average life expectancy grew from 80 to 81½.
Is now the time to consider the advantages of grain co-operatives?
With grain prices depressed at harvest and only getting worse since and potential inheritance tax changes reducing the want for significant investment in storage, 2025 may be the year for more farms to become part of a grain co-operative.