Host:		Jason and Anna are with us now and we will be with you live shortly. Please do send in your questions...
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: Hi everyone! Anna: I hope we can help as many people this afternoon - looking forward to this!
Fran Caterham:		I am married and have a child - is there anything I can do to reduce my tax liabilities
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: The first thing to look at is if you have an entitlement to tax credits which wont reduce your liaibility - it could be of benefit if your income is modest Anna: If you are not working check that the savings in bank and building societies are in your name as opposed to your husbands who might be paying tax on the interest
Mark Hawkins:		How much am I able to save in an ISA?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Anna: You can save £7,200 in a stocks and shares ISA or £3,600 in a cash ISA. Jason: If you opt for the stocks and shares ISA it's probably best to pay money in on a monthly basis to reduce the risk of you getting the timing wrong. The last thing you want to do is to put the full £7,200 the day before the stockmarket crashes, this drip-feeding reduces that risk - and of course it can be better for your cash-flow to invest on monthly basis not all once.
Sarah Jones:		I am confused about inheritance tax and want to make sure that I'm not paying too much. What is the best way to find out about how to minimize payments when my parents die? Thanks
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Anna: Probably seeking advice - need to bear in mind the nil rate band which is £312,000 and both parents will have that unless the joint estate is worth more than £624,000 you shouldnt worry about inheritance tax - if the estate is worth significantly more its worth your while seeking advice from a solicitor or a specialised IFA Jason: Contact a local adviser via www.unbiased.co.uk - most advisers will happyily spend ten minutes on the phone talking through the issues and if need be a meeting can be arranged
Number6:		I have some company shares I am thinking of selling. What is the best thing to do to pay the least CGT ? Should I sell half now then the other half in the new tax year ?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: Most people don't end up paying CGT anyway, particularly in the current climate - where people don't tend to have made big gains. If you gain however is above the current allowance of £9,600 then you are quite right to spread the sale across two or more tax years. Anna: If you have a loss on the shares at the moment, these can be carried forward to offset against future gains indefinitely.
Mike:		At 64 I receive 2 pensions which are taxed and my wife has a small state pension. How can I best use her tax free allowance to balance our total tsx burden?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: With pensions you cant change the name of the recipient but if your income is higher ensure savings and other investments are in your wife's name so as much as possible falls into her personal allowance Anna: Its worth mentioning if you make charitable donations you should make them in your name instead of your wife as you will benefit
anne:		does my husband has to pay tax on his redundancy pay?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Anna: The first £30,000 is nornally tax free but it does depend on how its structured Jason: If he was in a senior position and the payout was about the mentioned amount the employer may be able to pay some in the current tax year and some in the next tax year Anna: It is worth asking if the employer can make a payment into your pension if you are planning boosting your pension
Katherine:		I became a higher rate taxpayer this year. Does this now mean I need to fill in an annual tax return - I do have around £20,000 invested in savings and shares but no other income
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: You will need to pay additional tax on savings interest and on any dividends that you receive however on a more positive note pension contributions now become much more benficial for you as you can claim higher rate tax relief Anna: You will need to complete the annual tax return
john greenhalgh:		What information do I need in order to speak to an IFA about tax planning
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: As long as you have rough details of your assets, your liabilities, your income and your expenditure, then the IFA you talk to will be able to do the rest, asking you further questions from there. Anna: Yes, if you can take a payslip or if applicable a recent tax return along that is always helpful. More importantly it is good to come armed with a sense of what outcome you might like, what your objectives are. If you need to find an IFA you will find that the unbiased.co.uk website will not only let you find an IFA near you and appropriate for your situation but gives you a list of questions you might find useful to ask them as well!
peter bevan:		I have elected to pay an extra £350 into my pension but my employer is reaping the tax reward. Is this correct?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Anna: This doesn't sound quite right! If you personally paying the pension contributions then your employer will be paying National Insurance (NI) contributions for you just the same as if you were not doing this. Jason: What you might be thinking about is if that £350 is actually an employer-paid contribution in lieu of salary then the employer will be making a small NI saving.
anne:		just seen an adviser and worried to find out my pension has had a terrible year. I am 31 - should I be worried and what should I do?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: You have a long time between now and retirement and over the longer term risky investments, such as shares should do well - so dont worry Anna: the key thing is your pension is performing as well as the stock market or the average fund and performace is in line with the market
Ken Philips:		I work for myself with my own business but find it very hard to do my tax returns. How can I make sure i am paying the right amounts? Where is the best place to go for this information?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: You really should be speaking to an accountant, the role of an IFA is a very broad one but at one end it moves into the realm of an accountant and the other end into solicitor territory especially regarding tax and estate planning
Julie:		My partner is currently renting out his flat and I'm concerned about what we need to declare to the tax man. Is it rental value, the net value we receive after agents fees or, because the mortgage payments exceed the rental income, nothing?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: If the mortgage interest payments are higher than the rental income, then as you say, there is no profit, and therefor no tax. Anna: It would be worth talking to an accountant because it may depend on what basis the mortgage was taken out, and when. Many letting agents pay you net of tax - i.e. paying rental due to you, after deducting tax at source - so it's worth having this looked at and making sure you are not falling foul of Inland Revenue laws and secondly, that you are claiming all the expenses you are able to.
Sarah Trent:		Are there any info resources that supply stats on average percentage tax expenses per industry?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: Not sure on this specifically, but www.statistics.gov.uk has a wealth of this sort of useful information and you may want to have a look there and see what you can find, Sorry I can't help further on this!
Host:		Can I just ask - with savnigs rates so low is there much point in bothering to save money into an ISA at the moment?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: The government doesn't really want us to save money at the moment, they want us to be spending it! That said, if you want a low-risk home for your cash if you have a mortgage and are not on a tracker-rate that will have reduced heavily then you may be better off paying down your mortgage rather than having savings that earn virtuall no interest. Anna: You can still get interest of 2.5% - occasionalyl 3% - from cash ISA accounts and it is tax-free so it is certainly better than non-ISA accounts!
dean sheppard:		i have got a land which was inhereted in 1988 and i am just sbout the sell it developere .I know that there are changes in CGT.How it will affect me?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Anna: The good news is you would be paying a lot less CGT now than 2 years ago - CGT is now charged at 18% - but its worth seeking advice to see what you can claim against it Jason: it may be worthwhile speaking to an accountant for this issue
harry:		how do i start a child trust fund for my child? is this tax efficient?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: You should receive a voucher for £250 shortly after the birth of your child. If you have an IFA do ask them for advice on which one to choose. You can pay in up to £1200 a year and any gains are tax-free but do be aware that the money is locled away until your child is eighteen years old - and it becomes theirs too so if you are concerned about them, say, spending it all in one go on fast cars etc, then perhaps be careful about how much you put in! Anna: Do have a look at www.childtrustfund.gov.uk and you will find a full list of providers and a whole wealth of information that can help you make the right choice and learn more about the tax situation too.
Katherine:		I earlier sked about tax returns and whether I had to do one now I am a higher rate payer. You mentioned about a better pension relief but if my only pension being paid into is a work defined benefit scheme do I need to do something to get this extra relief?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: You will probably be getting tax relief through PAYE on the contribution so in your case it sounds like there will be no more relief to claim Ann: You will get what you are entitled to through PAYE Jason: Your point is interesting because there are two different structures for pensions schemes and if your employer pension had been a stakeholder or personal pension scheme then you would personally need to reclaim the additional relief
dean sheppard:		I am a basic rate tax payer,if i put big lumpsum into personal pension would government add another 22%?and what is the highest amount i can put in a year?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Anna: The Government would put in 20% on contributions you make and you can contribute up to 100% of your salary Jason: If you write a cheque for £8000 - £10,000 gets invested in your pension - if you think you may be a higher rate tax payer in the future it could be worth delaying contributions and investing in an ISA instead for the time being
Christine Leigh:		My partner is self employed and I handle his self assessment form. he earns less than £15,000 per year so I only have to submit a short form. A company which owes him £1000 has gone into voluntary liquidation and ther will be no pay out to creditors. How do I show this on the SA form in order to recoup the tax already charged on this.
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Jason: as we mentioned earlier some tax questions are more for an accountant than an IFA and this is one example of that
John:		I am due to accept voluntary redundancy late next year. The lump sum is around £140,000. I can either put £110,000 in my pension fund to boost the pension monthly payments and keep £30,000 tax free and avoid tax at 40% on £110,000 (44k), or take a tax hit of 44k and keep £96,000 tax free. Is there any way I can reduce/avoid the tax hit?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Anna: You really should seek advice on this as its quite technical - the IFA would be able to look at the pros and cons and what would suit your circumstances best - one easy to find an IFA would be going to www.unbiased.co.uk
Host:		We're out of time - the questions have flown in and the time flown away. Any closing thoughts or advice to give?
Anna Sofat and Jason Witcombe:		Anna: It really pays to have a trusted adviser. Far too many people rely on their friends or family to be their unoffical adviser and there is no accountability. Jason: All the advisers I know will happily spare some time over the phone or face-to-face and I would point out that the unbiased,co.uk website even has a voucher you can download for a free introductory consultation - and this is well worth taking advantage of. Anna: Thanks everyone for all the questions Jason: I hope we have been able to help whether or not we have answered your exact question today.