Tax planning & year-end review in West London
Make the tax decision while there is still time to change the outcome.
SV&Co helps company directors, sole traders and growing businesses across Southall and West London review profit, tax, dividends, pensions, capital expenditure, director’s loans and upcoming liabilities before the relevant deadline passes.
Spending £1 just to save 25p of tax still leaves you 75p poorer.
Good tax planning starts with the commercial decision. Tax should improve the decision, not create a bad one.
Corporation Tax
The headline rate is not always the rate on the next pound of profit.
For a standalone company with a normal 12-month period, the small-profits rate is 19% up to £50,000 of profit, the main rate is 25% above £250,000, and marginal relief applies between those limits. Associated companies divide the thresholds.
£50,000
Normal lower threshold with no associated companies.
26.5%
Effective marginal rate on an extra £1 of profit through much of the marginal-relief band, under simple assumptions.
£250,000
Normal upper threshold with no associated companies.
÷ companies
Thresholds are proportionately reduced for associated companies and short periods.
Example: four companies under common control
If the company has three other associated companies, the normal £50,000 and £250,000 limits are divided by four, becoming £12,500 and £62,500 for a 12-month period. That can make group structure relevant to year-end planning even where each company looks small on its own.
Salary, dividends & retained profit
Money leaving the bank account needs the right legal and tax label.
A director should not decide “I need £20,000” and label the payment later. Salary, dividends, expense repayments, loan repayments and director’s loans have different company and personal tax consequences.
Salary / bonus
Normally deductible for Corporation Tax when the normal remuneration rules are met, but PAYE, employee NIC and employer NIC can apply. Timing and payroll reporting matter.
Dividend
A dividend is not a Corporation Tax deduction. It must come from available company profits and needs proper declaration/minutes and a dividend voucher.
Leave profit in the company
You do not have to extract all post-tax profit. Retained cash may be useful for investment, working capital or future dividends, but personal and company plans should be looked at together.
£500
2026/27 dividend allowance.
10.75%
Basic dividend rate above allowance.
35.75%
Higher dividend rate above allowance.
39.35%
Additional dividend rate above allowance.
Pensions
A company pension contribution can reduce taxable profit, but it must be more than a year-end journal.
Employer contributions to a registered pension scheme can normally be deductible where they are made wholly and exclusively for the trade. HMRC’s normal timing rule gives the employer deduction in the accounting period in which the contribution is actually paid, subject to specific spreading and anti-avoidance rules.
Simple £20,000 illustration
If a company pays an allowable £20,000 employer pension contribution and would otherwise be taxed at a straight 25% Corporation Tax rate, the simple headline Corporation Tax reduction would be £5,000.
But the company still parts with £20,000 of cash. The £5,000 tax reduction does not make the £20,000 contribution free.
Pension limits still matter
The standard pension annual allowance for 2026/27 is £60,000. Employer contributions count towards the individual’s annual allowance.
Carry forward can sometimes increase available allowance, while high income or flexible access to pensions can reduce it. Pension tax limits and investment suitability should be checked before a large contribution.
Equipment & capital allowances
Buy the machine because the business needs it. Then choose the right allowance.
Capital allowances can accelerate tax relief on qualifying plant and machinery. The Annual Investment Allowance remains up to £1,000,000, while companies can also have access to full expensing and the 50% first-year allowance for qualifying new plant and machinery. A permanent 40% first-year allowance has also applied to certain qualifying new main-rate assets from 1 January 2026.
Bad reason to buy
“I will spend £30,000 because it saves tax.”
Even if a full £30,000 deduction produced £7,500 of tax reduction at a straight 25% rate, the business has still spent a net £22,500 after that simple tax effect.
Better question
“We need this £30,000 machine in the next six months. Is there a commercial reason to buy it before the accounting year end, and what allowance is available?”
That is a genuine year-end planning decision.
Interactive tax-planning tools
Use the numbers to decide what deserves a proper review.
Official basis: GOV.UK / HMRC
Last checked: 16 August 2026
Live site will use SV&Co Official Data Hub
Corporation Tax Scenario Explorer
See the simple tax effect of a proposed qualifying deduction. This is designed to stop the common mistake of treating a tax saving as if the underlying expenditure were free.
Year-End Review Checker
Tick what is happening in the business. We will show the subjects worth reviewing before the deadline.
Tax planning FAQs
Planning is useful when there is a real decision, not a magic tax trick.
Should I buy something before year end to reduce Corporation Tax?
Only if the purchase is commercially sensible. If the business genuinely needs the asset, timing can affect the capital allowance and tax year. Spending money purely for a tax deduction normally leaves the business with less cash overall.
Can my company make a pension contribution for me?
Yes, employer contributions to a registered pension can be tax deductible where the relevant trade rules are met. The normal employer tax deduction follows the accounting period in which the contribution is paid. The individual’s pension annual allowance and other pension limits still need checking.
Should I take a dividend before the company year end?
The company year end is not automatically the key date for personal dividend tax because personal Income Tax follows the tax year. You also need available distributable profits, correct paperwork and the shareholder’s wider personal tax position. Company and personal dates should be considered together.
Why do associated companies matter?
For Corporation Tax marginal relief, the normal £50,000 and £250,000 profit limits are divided by the number of associated companies. A group or multiple commonly controlled companies can therefore reach the higher Corporation Tax bands sooner.
When should a director’s loan be reviewed?
Ideally throughout the year and certainly before accounts are finalised. The amount outstanding at the accounting year end, the nine-month repayment window, later drawings, dividends and beneficial-loan rules can all matter.
When is Corporation Tax normally payable?
For companies outside the large-company instalment regime, Corporation Tax is usually due nine months and one day after the end of the accounting period, while the Company Tax Return is usually due 12 months after the period ends.
Reviewed by
Sandip Vadher, PhD FCCA
Founder of SV&Co Accountancy. Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant with more than 20 years of finance and accountancy experience.
Tax Planning & Year-End Review
Bring us the numbers before the deadline, not after.
We can review estimated profit, tax reserve, dividends, pensions, director’s loan, capital expenditure and personal tax position and identify which decisions genuinely need action before year end.
Useful information to send us
Latest management accounts or bookkeeping, estimated full-year profit, company bank balance, director’s loan balance, dividends already taken, payroll, pension contributions, planned equipment purchases and other personal income.
Effective tax planning uses current profit forecasts, business structure, drawings, pensions and expected liabilities. SV&Co reviews these areas before year-end decisions are final.