Money Features - Tiscali

• If you are eligible: Claim your tax credits - £2.9 billion of ‘free money’ is up for grabs from HMRC and the DWP, in the form of Pension Credits, Child Tax Credits and Working Family Tax credits.
• If you save: Use up your annual ISA allowance - £170 million in tax could be avoided by sheltering investments in ISAs, or moving savings from an ordinary deposit or savings account to an ISA. Also consider a Friendly Society savings account or products from National Savings & Investments as tax-efficient savings options.
• If you fill in a tax form: Sort out your self-assessment - £487 million waste could be wiped out by all forms arriving present and correct by the 31st January deadline. Self-assessment forms received after the deadline incur penalties of £100; further penalties and errors make up the balance of tax wasted in this way.
• All taxpayers: Maximise your personal tax allowances - £548 million goes begging each year, £319 million through non-taxpayers failing to claim tax back on banks and building society savings accounts, and a further £229 million by taxpayers not transferring savings accounts to non-taxpaying spouses, if appropriate, so that the tax liability on the savings is lower, or none.
• If you have assets over £275,000: Plan your inheritance - an extra £1.3billion could go to chosen heirs by planning properly to avoid IHT liabilities. IHT is often lost through not writing life assurance policies in trust, not thinking about inheritance tax allowances and, worst of all, by not making a will at all.
• If you save: Top up your pension pot - £656 million could be spared by optimising contributions to personal or company pension schemes, or making Additional Voluntary Contributions.
• If your employer offers an employeed share plan: Take advantage of it - £207 million is up for grabs for the estimated 600,000 staff currently in Profit Related Pay schemes.
• If you have capital gains: Use your allowance efficiently, perhaps by transferring assets between spouses to make the most of both of your CGT allowances - £389 million could be saved in this way.
• If you give to charity: £808 million more could go to good causes by using tax-efficient means of charitable giving, i.e. using a deed of covenant, Gift Aid or payroll giving.
• If your child or grandchild is eligible for a Child Trust Fund: Avoid waste by using up the tax free saving potential - £21 million in tax could be saved in their first year of existence.

“Tax is no one’s friend, so why pay more than you need to? From avoiding fines and charges to claiming what’s rightfully ours, people should take action. Discussing your financial planning situation with a local IFA is a great place to start, and should help cut your waste significantly,” said Elms.

As a first step to stamping out this waste, visit IFA Promotion’s dedicated website at www.taketaxaction.co.uk. The site contains tips on how to save tax, an online tax wastage calculator, and a guide to saving tax. You can also find details of local IFAs on the site or by calling 0800 085 3250.

* TaxAction 2006 report produced for IFA Promotion by RAKM, based on a specially commissioned analysis of Inland Revenue and a range of other official data sources.

** Survey for IFA Promotion by YouGov, using a sample of 2367 people in February 2006.

Visit www.taketaxaction.co.uk to see how YOU could save tax