As we all look forward to the Royal Wedding this weekend, it’s a fitting time to mention the Marriage Allowance.  This Allowance lets you transfer £1,190 of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner – if they earn more than you. You can get Marriage Allowance if all of the following apply:

• you’re married or in a civil partnership
• you don’t earn anything or your income is £11,850 or less
• your partner’s income is between £11,851 and £46,350 (or £43,430 if you’re in Scotland)

If you or your partner were born before 6 April 1935, you might benefit more as a couple by applying for Married Couple’s Allowance instead.  You can find out more and check your eligibility at https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance

For more advice about tax allowances and tax-planning, please call us on 0114 235 3500.

Well done to everyone at Sheffield Children’s Hospital who have moved patients into the newly opened wards this week. The new wing has been purposely built for children and has a play tower full of toys to keep children of all ages entertained.

We have been proud supporters of the Children’s Hospital Charity for a number of years and Jonathan Rowley, our Director, was lucky enough to have a recent tour of the new facilities at the hospital.  As well as appointing them as our charity of the year, we are also involved in the Dan Walker Golf day that takes place annually at Hallamshire Golf Club.  BBC Breakfast and Football Focus presenter Dan has now raised a staggering £182,000 since his first golf day in 2014 for the charity of which he is a patron.

Please take a look at the amazing work that this charity does.  You can visit their website at www.tchc.org.uk.

We’re now in the new tax year with a bigger than usual set of changes.  Here’s our list of the main headlines:

Income Tax:

• £11,850 is the starting point for paying 20% basic tax rate (up from £11,500)
• 40% tax will start on earnings above £46,350 (up from £45,000)
• Above the £150k upper rate, you will pay 45%.

Dividend Taxes:

• Everyone now receives a £2,000 allowance, down from £5,000.
• Once past the allowance, basic rate taxpayers will pay 7.5% tax, higher rate taxpayers will pay 32.5% and additional rate taxpayers will pay 38.1% tax.
• These changes don’t affect any shares you hold in an Isa or a pension.

Capital Gains Taxes:

• Lower rate taxpayers pay 10% tax; higher and additional rate taxpayers pay 20%
• If you’re selling a second property, including buy-to-let investments, then you are the exception and there will be charge of 18% for basic rate taxpayers or 28% for higher and additional rate taxpayers.

Pensions:

• There are no major changes to pension allowance.
• The lifetime pensions allowance has been increased by £30,000 and now stands at £1,030,000.

Isas:

• If you have a Help to Buy Isa you can save up to £3,400 in the first year and then £2,400 each year after
• If you have a Lifetime Isa you can save £4,000 a year and this can be used towards the cost of buying a first home or for retirement.

Now is a great time to review your financial plans and make sure they are working for you.  Please get in touch with to arrange a free review meeting.  Call 0114 235 3500.

Jonathan is now an associate member of SOLLA.  SOLLA helps people and their families in finding trusted accredited financial advisers who understand financial needs in later life.

The complexities of the many decisions you or your family may need to face when looking at issues such as care funding matters or whether equity release is the right thing for you, need careful and considered advice. Financial advice should help you make clear and informed decisions knowing that you have had the information and choices presented to you in a way that helps you make the best choices and decisions for you or for a family member.

As an associate member of SOLLA, Jonathan has committed to undertaking the accreditation and has up to a two year period to become fully accredited.

For more information on SOLLA, please visit their website: www.societyoflaterlifeadvisers.co.uk

Hamnett Wealth Management are also working towards becoming a dementia friendly business.  The team have all completed online training that covered three key areas – people, processes and places.

For more information on Dementia Friendly Businesses, please visit their website at: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/info/20116/making_organisations_more_dementia-friendly

Cryptocurrencies are back in the news this week after recording their biggest gains in week. They are also under greater scrutiny than ever before. But what are they and what is their true value?

Ben Kumar, Investment Manager at 7IM, has shared his thoughts with us. Click here to read Ben’s article

March came in like a lion, what with the ‘Beast from the East’ and Storm Emma, so it should go out like a lamb – or so the saying goes! However the month ends, the 5th of April is just around the corner. This date marks the end of the tax year and is the date by which you should have finalised your tax-efficient savings plans and pension issues.

There are no major changes to tax rates from April 2017 however the personal allowance and higher rate tax threshold have increased.

If you have money to save, but have yet to use up your ISA allowance, make sure you take advantage of this tax-free form of investment before the April deadline. If you don’t use your allowance by this date, it will be gone for good, as you cannot carry any allowance which you haven’t used over to the following tax year.

Equally, make the most of any allowances on your pension contributions to cut your tax bill. Business owners can contribute up to £40,000 to their pension annually tax-free, effectively a tax efficient way of saving for the future.

If you need any help with tax planning, we are on hand to help. Please contact us on 0114 235 3500.

After a year of calm and positive markets, the last week or so has been a stark reminder that volatility is never too far away. The recent 4.5% drop in the US stock market is the first one day fall of that size since 2011.

So what now? More volatility? Or back to calmer waters?

Click here for commentary from 7IM’s Chief Strategist, Alex Scott.

Now is a good time to ask yourself whether your portfolio is correctly positioned to weather the storm. Is it in line with your appetite for risk? To review your position, please contact us on 0114 235 3500.

What a great way to be able to kick off our new blog section of the website by announcing our Chartered status.

Chartered status is an objective mark of professional standing among all professions. It is awarded to firms who can demonstrate commitment to developing knowledge, enhancing capability and maintaining ethical standards.

We have always prided ourselves on being thoroughly professional in everything we do, and to receive external recognition in this way is very gratifying. It signals our commitment to the highest levels of service to our customers.”

To retain our title we must ensure the advice, service and ongoing support we provide to you are of the highest quality.

Our advice must be based solely on your researched needs, and provided by someone competent to discuss products and services that meet your requirements.

• We ensure our technical and professional knowledge and competence through professional qualifications.
• We keep our knowledge and skills up-to-date through continuing professional development.
• And our staff must be members of the Personal Finance Society (the financial planning arm of the CII Group) and comply with its Code of Ethics, which is enforced through disciplinary sanctions.

Our Chartered title means a lot to us. It was not easily achieved, and it takes continuous investment in customer service and commitment to professionalism to maintain.

To date, fewer than 700 firms have achieved Chartered status, indicating that this is a highly exclusive award reserved for the leading firms within the financial advice market.