Tax Planning
Tax planning is the difference between simply filing a return and actively shaping your affairs to pay the legal minimum. Rather than reacting at year-end, proactive planning lets you make informed decisions throughout the year that reduce your tax bill and protect more of your hard-earned profit. Our London accountants work with you to build a tax strategy that fits your business and your personal goals.
What tax planning covers
Tax planning is a broad, forward-looking discipline. For company directors it includes profit-extraction strategy — balancing salary, dividends and pension contributions to minimise the combined personal and corporate tax burden. For growing businesses it covers the timing of capital purchases, the use of losses, and the structure of the business itself.
It also extends to specialist reliefs such as Research and Development (R&D) tax credits, which can deliver significant cash savings for innovative companies, and to capital gains planning when you sell business assets or shares. Each lever works differently, and the right combination depends entirely on your circumstances.
How we plan with you
We conduct a deep dive into your current financials and your goals for the next one to three years. We then model different scenarios — for example, how taking a higher dividend versus a higher salary affects your overall tax — so you can see the real-world impact of each choice before you make it.
The most valuable planning happens before your financial year-end, when there is still time to act. Our pre-year-end review identifies opportunities to time purchases, accelerate or defer income, and lock in reliefs before the window closes.
Planning that evolves with you
Tax planning is not a one-off exercise. As your business grows, your family circumstances change, or tax rules evolve, your strategy should adapt. We review your position regularly and flag new opportunities — and new obligations — as they arise, so your planning always stays one step ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is tax planning the same as tax evasion?
No. Tax planning uses legal reliefs, allowances and structures to minimise your tax. Tax evasion is illegal. We only ever use compliant, legitimate strategies.
When should I start tax planning?
The earlier the better. The most effective planning happens before your financial year-end, when there is still time to act on purchases, dividends and reliefs.
Could my business qualify for R&D tax credits?
Many more businesses qualify than realise it. If your company develops new products, processes or software, we can assess whether R&D relief applies.
How is profit extraction planned?
We model the combined effect of salary, dividends and pension contributions to find the most tax-efficient way to take money out of your company for your circumstances.