The tax team in [L]https://www.burton-sweet.co.uk/[+L]Burton Sweet's[.L] Shepton Mallet office will be busy in February and March, helping clients make the most of the tax allowances and reliefs that need to be used by April 5 2022.

As tax manager Alison Tideswell explains, "many tax allowances have to be used before the end of the tax year – if you don't use them, they are lost."

Among the "use it or lose it" opportunities that Alison recommends you should be considering now are:

1. Top up your personal pension – the Government adds 20% to your contribution, which is a pretty good return on your investment, and higher rate taxpayers will also get a tax rebate of the same amount. And if you didn't pay the maximum pension contributions in 2018/19 the unused relief from that year must be used by April 5 2022.

1. If you're a taxpayer do you remember to tick the Gift Aid box when you make charity donations? It increases the value of your donation by the 20% tax the charity can claim from the Government, at no cost to you. But if you pay 40% or 45% Income Tax, don't forget to keep a list of your donations and claim them on your own tax return because you can get a tax rebate too! Gift Aid can be a win-win way to get your tax bill down before the end of the tax year.

1. Are you selling an asset such as a buy-to-let property or investment? You have a £12,300 Capital Gains Tax allowance for 2021/22 to reduce the taxable gain, doubled if you and your partner are selling a jointly-owned asset. So if you haven't used that allowance yet, try to make the sale by April 5. On the other hand, if you have already used this year's allowance, can you delay the sale until after April 5 so it falls in the next tax year?

1. Don't overlook ISAs. These tax-free savings accounts are a great way to build up an investment alongside your pension, and you don't have to wait until you're 55 to make withdrawals. Your £20,000 annual allowance has to be used by April 5, and again your spouse or partner can also have one to that's £40,000 for your household. Parents and grandparents could also consider paying into a junior ISA for the kids – anyone can invest up to £9,000 per child. If you don't have an ISA already, get some independent financial advice and see if it's right for you – but good independent financial advisers will be very busy as the tax year draws to a close, so don't leave it too late.

1. Finally, many businesses currently operate as limited companies these days due to the tax advantages. Shareholders can receive up to £2,000 of dividends tax-free in 2021/22, but they need to be properly voted by April 5. If you own a company with available profits but don't have the cash to pay a dividend in 2021/22, you can vote it now and leave it on loan with the company to draw on some time in the future. It's a nice little tax-free nest egg you can draw on when you need it, so don't miss out.

Alison and the team at Cooper House are helping clients find tax-saving opportunities, often bringing to their attention tax reliefs and allowances they weren't aware of. There's nothing more disheartening than meeting someone in April or May and having to say "if only you'd come to us before April 5 we could have saved you X pounds in tax"!

Give Alison a call on 01749 342255 if you'd like to find out how she can help you, or if you'd like help with your 2021/22 Self Assessment tax return.