Bure Valley Group is an investment introducer platform which links successful investors with exciting, innovative UK startups seeking funding. This content is for information purposes only and should not be taken as financial or investment advice.
In today’s high-inflation investment landscape, getting the best after-tax returns is more crucial than before. Fortunately, the UK offers a range of tax-efficient schemes and “vehicles” which can help investors build an optimal portfolio. In this guide, our team at Bure Valley group offers an overview of the main options available to investors in 2022 – together with ideas on how to use them within a wider investment plan.
We hope you find this content useful. To find out more about our EIS and other investment opportunities, visit our portfolio page here. To enquire regarding our latest projects and funding (for investors and founders, respectively), you can reach us via:
+44 160 334 0827
Different ISA options
Each year, a UK resident is entitled to put £20,000 into one or more ISAs. Any capital gains, dividends or interest generated inside will be tax-free. Over time, therefore, you could build an impressive ISA portfolio where almost all of the returns end up in your pocket.
You can spread this £20,000 allowance over the various ISA types. For instance, you could put £5,000 into a cash ISA, £7,000 into a stocks & shares ISA, £4,000 into a lifetime ISA (the most you can put in each tax year) and £4,000 into an innovative finance ISA.
For investors with a long-time partner, such as a spouse, it is worth noting that both of you has access to a £20,000 annual ISA allowance. So, if you have maximised your ow allowance for the tax year, your household could still save on tax by helping your spouse to make full use of his/her ISA allowance.
Bear in mind that most ISA investments are counted as part of your estate for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes when you die. However, certain shares (e.g. AIM shares which qualigy for Business Relief) may be exempt if they meet certain criteria. Therefore, you might wish to rearrange your ISA investments as you get older – to ensure greater IHT mitigation.
EIS and SEIS
Interested in investing in early-stage companies with high growth potential? The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) can be great options for investors due to the tax breaks they offer.
Each year, a UK investor can invest up to £1m into EIS-qualifying companies (or £2m if these count as “knowledge intensive”) and up to £100,000 into businesses qualifying for SEIS. Both schemes allow you to claim back the value of your investment against your income tax bill and offer “loss relief” in your investment fails.
Taken together, these mechanisms help investors to reduce their “at risk” capital when investing in EIS and SEIS – allowing them to access strong potential returns without jeopardising too much wealth. Of course, you still need to take care when building a portfolio which includes the schemes to some degree. Investing in startps and early-stage companies is still risky and you should take time to review your risk tolerance before investing.
VCTs
Another great tax-efficient investment option is the venture capital trust (VCT). These publicly listed companies invest in small, unlisted companies with high growth potential on investors’ behalf. If you hold shares in the VCT for at least 5 years then you gain access to a range of attractive tax benefits. These include:
- Tax-free tax relief on VCT dividends
- No capital gains tax on share disposal
- Income tax relief on the initial investment when you buy new VCT share issues.
Bear in mind that EIS, SEIS and VCT investments involve higher risk compared to investing in many large, publicly listed companies and it can be difficult to sell shares to other investors. Make sure you take financial advice when incorporating them into your portfolio to ensure your investments are well-diversified and are built into a long-term strategy to meet your goals.
Pensions
If you do not need certain money until retirement, then locking it away in a pensions is still one of the most tax-efficient ways to invest towards your long-term future. In 2022-23, you can put up to £40,000 into your pension(s) each tax year; or, up to 100% of your earnings (whichever is lower). Anything you contribute will receive a “boost” from the UK government via tax relief that is equivalent to your highest rate of income tax. A higher rate taxpayer, for instance, only needs to contribute 60p to put £1 into his/her pension (40% tax relief).
However, higher earners needs to bear in mind that a “taper” applies to the annual allowance depending on your income. Specifically, for every £2 of adjusted income over £240,000 your annual allowance for the tax year goes down by £1. This can bring an annual allowance down to as low as £4,000 per year. So, make sure you seek professional advice on how to navigate this effectively. You also need to be mindful of the lifetime allowance, which places a “cap” on how much in total you can save into your pensions. Presently, this is £1,073,100 and anything you take over this amount as a lump sum will be charged at 55% (or 25% if taken as income).
Invitation
Interested in finding out more about the exciting startup projects we have on offer to investors here at Bure Valley Group? Get in touch today to start a conversation with our team and discuss some of the great investment memorandums we have available here:
+44 160 334 0827
