The UK Budget 2025: What could it mean for your personal circumstances?

HELEN PERRIN: And as always, the devil is in the detail. So let's break down some of those detailed notes that usually follow a Budget to see what it could mean for your personal finances. I say, usually follow the Budget because luckily, perhaps, for us who are planning for today's session, we all had early access to those detailed notes yesterday due to an early release error by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Those of you who watch the Budget live will have seen that caused some excitement and criticism from the opposition and the Deputy Speaker ahead of the Budget speech yesterday. And I'm sure there will be some fallout from that. But as I say, for those of us preparing to deliver a summary this morning, we certainly found it useful. And I'm Helen Perrin, I head up WTW UK Financial Planning Group. We're a team of regulated financial planners who provide education, guidance, and advice to UK employees on their personal finances, helping them make the most of the employee benefit options and wider strategies.

And I'm joined today by expert financial planners and a portfolio manager from atomos. A big welcome to Paul Gordon, Sean Walsh, and Ellie Ingilby from atomos, who will each bring their own unique take on the Budget implications. Paul and Sean are both experienced financial planners at atomos, helping individuals optimize their tax planning, investments, and estate planning to meet their needs and life goals. And Ellie is one of atomos' most senior portfolio managers, working with individuals, charities, and trusts to build bespoke investment solutions. So together, we will take you through the key highlights of yesterday's Budget, as they apply to individuals.

What's changed? And perhaps as importantly, with all the pre-Budget rumors, what hasn't changed following yesterday's announcements? Please also use today to ask any questions that you have on yesterday's Budget and its implications using our Q&A function. You'll find the Q&A function at the top of your screen in the middle. And you can choose to post your questions anonymously, if you prefer to, by toggling to the anonymous option in the Q&A.

So let's get started. And no better place to start than with income tax. Many had believed an increase in income tax was the only way to get the tax revenue the country so desperately needed. And the Chancellor seemed to hint at that in a scene setting speech on the 4 of November. However, last week, it was reported that the government had reversed plans to increase income tax after the Office for Budget Responsibility suggested the black hole between government spending plans and forecast revenue was actually smaller than previously expected.

That said, there were some changes to income tax announced for savers, investors, and landlords, which we'll come on to. And even for workers, most tax thresholds have been frozen since April 2022, with the previous Conservative government having announced an extension to that freeze until April 2028. Yesterday, the Chancellor announced a further extension of that freeze for another three years until April 2031, which will push more people into the higher rate and additional rate tax bands in future years.

So currently, we have a tax-free personal allowance of £12,570 a year and a basic rate tax band with income above that up to £50,270 taxed at 20% in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with 40% tax payable on income between £50,270 and £125,140, and then an additional 45% tax rate, which is payable on income above £125,000. Those rates vary slightly in Scotland. And there is a slightly lower threshold for higher rate tax in Scotland of £43,663.

So freezes to those thresholds across the UK mean more people will get caught by things like the 60% tax trap for income between 100,000 and £125,140 in a tax year, where the personal allowance reduces by 1 pound for each 2 pounds of income above 100,000 until it's completely lost, if taxable income exceeds 125,140 in the tax year. So that causes an effective rate of tax of 60% for income between 100,000 and 125,000, due to an overall increase in the amount of income subject to tax. Reports suggest that up to one quarter of us will be subject to higher rate tax in the future plus a significant increase in the number of people paying 45% tax for the first time expected by 2031.

So whilst the rates of income tax on working people haven't changed, and in theory, Labour has kept its manifesto pledge, we will all be feeling the pinch of those frozen tax thresholds, especially with the high rates of inflation we've seen recently. And with more of us being pushed into higher rate tax brackets, many employers will be looking for ways to manage their taxable income and optimize use of tax efficient employee benefit options. Paying extra pension contributions is one of the key options available for employees looking to reduce their taxable income and boost their long-term savings.

So higher rate and additional rate taxpayers will no doubt be relieved to hear that the flat rate of pension tax relief rumor, which resurfaced prior to this year's Budget, once again, did not happen. Full tax relief remains available for higher and additional rate taxpayers on pension contributions made within the annual allowance. Now, the annual allowance and tapering around that is a topic in its own right. So I'm not going to go into the details of that today. But we do have a dedicated session coming up on the 12 of January to cover annual allowance and retirement planning for those restricted by that.

But for most people, you can pay up to £60,000 in pension contributions each tax year without getting caught by annual allowance restrictions. But if your taxable income exceeds £260,000 in a tax year, tapering or reduction to the annual allowance kicks in and care will be needed. So I'd encourage you to attend our retirement planning When the Annual Allowance Bites session on 12 of January to hear more about that, if that impacts you.

But full tax relief remains available on pension contributions for most people. However, for those looking to make use of salary sacrifice to reduce taxable income and save on National Insurance contributions, there were some announcements in this year's Budget on restrictions to NI savings on pension contributions made after April 2029. Currently, employees who make pension contributions through salary sacrifice save both tax and employee National Insurance contributions on the amounts paid into pension.

And employers also save the employer NI on those pension contributions at 15%. This makes pensions a very tax efficient way to save for the future. Whilst full tax relief will continue to be available on most pension contributions from April 2029 and pensions will remain a tax efficient way to save for the future, following yesterday's announcements, NI savings will only be permitted on the first £2,000 of pension contributions made each year from the 29/30 tax year. Meaning a 20% taxpayer misses out on 8% employee NI savings for contributions above 2,000 a year. And 40% and 45% taxpayers pay an extra 2% NI on pension contributions above the 2,000 annual limit from April 29.

The good news is we've still got another three years to make full use of those NI savings on pension contributions made through salary sacrifice before we get to April 29. And pensions remain a tax efficient way to save and can still be used as an effective way to reduce your taxable income. Full tax relief is available on pension contributions for most people. And those contributions grow in a tax-free environment. So no income tax or capital gains tax on growth within a pension fund, plus tax-free cash of up to 25% of the value of your pensions at retirement can be taken subject to an overall monetary cap of 268,275 for most people.

So despite rumors, before the autumn Budget that tax-free cash limit hasn't been changed. And that was actually confirmed by the government two weeks ago to stop people withdrawing their cash from their pensions. Although I'm not sure that the thousands of people who took their tax-free cash concerned by those rumors will see that as good adequate warning.

But all in all, probably better than expected news for savers into pensions. And the restriction on NI savings for pension contributions does seem to only apply to pension contributions made by salary sacrifice and not to wider employee benefits selected through that route. There's an increasing range of tax efficient employee benefits available through salary sacrifice to help individuals manage their taxable income, including things like cycle to work, green car schemes, share incentive plans, childcare vouchers, and much more.

So full tax savings and NI savings continue to be available on lots of employee benefits, and it seems will continue to be available from April 29. It's just those pensions contributions through salary sacrifice that will be restricted. So I mentioned green car schemes there, which remain tax efficient in terms of salary sacrifice, which I'm sure comes as a great relief to those of us, who signed up to a three-year lease recently. There were, however, other measures in the Budget relevant to e-car owners. Paul, could you perhaps outline some of those changes and some of the other things that might impact our cost of living?

PAUL GORDON: Thanks, Helen. Good morning, all. And sorry, Helen, I start with bad news on EV cars, especially if you've got a three-year lease. EV cars are now going to be taxed. Effectively from April 2028, they're going to be taxed per mile to the tune of 3 pence with hybrid cars at 1.5 pence per mile.

Now, quite how that's going to be logged, we're not quite sure. And a brand new car at the moment for the first three years doesn't need an MOT. So it may well be some form of self-assessment via mileage logs or similar. But it will make a difference. And that will sit on top of the excise duty at the moment, which sits at £195

So 30,000 miles for a year would be another £900 of tax placed upon an EV vehicle. Admittedly, it's 2.5 years time. So we'll see if the finer detail changes anything. But that's how it's due to look moving forwards.

Travel featured pretty highly yesterday. So fuel duty remains frozen. So for those of you without EV cars, the surcharge or the 5 pence rise is, again, delayed. It's frozen until September of next year. So fuel remains relatively efficient. You could argue the values outside of that, but it hasn't risen this year.

What has changed, though? Sadly, we've seen the normal taxes applied to alcohol and tobacco. For those of you that like milkshakes, and I'm one of them, if they are pre-prepared milkshakes or lattes, they're going to face tax from April onwards, aligned to the sugar tax from back in 2018. I didn't realize that latte, some of the pre-prepared lattes, have eight teaspoons of sugar in it. But those of you that drink coffees from Starbucks or cafes, that's not going to apply. It's only pre-prepared drinks, as things stand.

For those of you that enjoy online gambling, that's definitely faced a rather stark increase in tax, almost doubling from 21% to 40%-- a big difference, actually. Gambling duty is going to rise as well to 25% from April 27. But remote betting on horse racing is still going to be left alone, as are in-person betting. So if you go to racetracks or similar and bet, that's not going to face the increased charges.

And really good news, which probably didn't grab the headlines, it should have done, bingo duty is being abolished from April next year. So that may be the only vice we can take without facing a tax moving forwards. But we'll wait and see. In terms of more travel, rail fares now are going to be frozen next year, which is the first time in 30 years. Interestingly enough, prescriptions are also going to be frozen.

So it does seem to be some expenditure going out there. Quite how that will be factored in costings, we'll see. And on the final fuel front, the green levy that we all pay for our fuel at home, £150 or so, that is being reduced from April of next year. So we'll not be paying that-- so some good news finally.

And then lastly, with regards to student loans and the freezing of thresholds, that has remained. So earnings of just below 30,000 will start to see graduate loans or student loans being repaid. And for masters and doctorates, it's still at 21,000. The one manifesto pledge, aside from the likes of income tax and NI, was to not increase the rate of VAT. And that has remained. But there are now going to be higher penalties for non-compliance.

And for those of you that can no longer afford an EV vehicle because of that, are worried about the fuel, if you travel by taxi and private hire, there's now going to be VAT on the full journey. There was a dispute between Uber and HMRC around the margin should face VAT. HMRC have changed the law to make sure they win because the case was still moving on. So VAT is going to be charged on private hire moving forwards.

HELEN PERRIN: Thanks, Paul. Lots of little tweaks there that may catch us unawares. And now let's turn to our savings and investments. So whilst tax rates for employees were not increased yesterday, we heard that dividend tax rates will be increased by 2% from April 2026 for basic and higher rate taxpayers. Currently, dividend tax rates are 8.75% for basic rate taxpayers and 33.75% for higher rate taxpayers. Rates will increase to 10.75% and 35.75% respectively from April 2026, with additional rate taxpayers continue to pay tax at 39.35% on dividend income.

We also heard that tax on savings income and property rental income will increase by 2% from April 2027, increasing the tax paid by landlords and those with high rates of cash savings. And there were also some changes to cash ISA limits. Ellie, can you perhaps talk us through some of those?

ELEANOR INGILBY: So ISAs were one of the most closely watched areas, [CLEARS THROAT] sorry, ahead of the Budget. And the Chancellor has taken a far more directional approach than many expected. So the cash ISA allowance has been reduced to £12,000 whilst the stocks and share ISA allowance remains untouched at 20,000.

Now, this is very clearly a behavioral nudge. The UK has long had a national history or a national tendency to default to cash. We are statistically one of the least equity invested developed markets. Cash is comforting. It feels familiar and it doesn't move around on you. The problem, of course, is that over longer periods, cash simply doesn't keep up with inflation.

So the government's intention here is fairly transparent to encourage people to take a longer term approach by steering more of their savings into productive investments. Cash remains entirely appropriate for emergency reserves and short-term needs-- so anything you expect to spend in the next few years. But for longer term horizons, the markets continue to offer much better prospects for real returns. And this change gives an extra nudge to people in that direction.

It's worth noting that the full 20,000 cash ISA allowance will stay in place for the over 65s. And we've yet to see the technical details of how that will be applied. It's also worth noting that the lifetime ISA, otherwise known as the LISA, is going to be scrapped. There'll be a consultation period. And they'll look for a replacement product, likely in around 2026. This product, I believe, is going to be a simpler product. And it will still be focused on first time buyers.

HELEN PERRIN: Great, thanks, Ellie. So savers will potentially have to reconsider their strategy. Do any tax efficient options remain for those wedded to cash, or those trying to meet some of those short-term goals you mentioned?

ELEANOR INGILBY: Of course. So for those who do prefer the stability of cash, the lower cash ISA allowance means the tax advantage is now much more limited. It doesn't make cash bad as such, it just means its role is a little bit narrower. So as I mentioned, short-term spending emergencies and a buffer against any surprises. For anything longer term, the alternatives matter.

So one option that's gained traction is direct gilt purchases. So gilt is really UK government bonds or debt. Now, they still offer some capital certainty if held to maturity but with considerably better tax treatment than savings interest for higher rate taxpayers. Not quite as exciting as equities, not quite as comfortable as cash, but they do sit neatly between the two.

HELEN PERRIN: Great, thank you. And on the theme of encouraging long-term investments, we saw some changes to the rules on venture capital trusts and enterprise investment schemes to open eligibility criteria for those schemes and allow organizations to retain their eligibility for longer, as they grow. And whilst the investment opportunities will increase and potentially some of the returns as a result of that, potentially some bad news for an individual perspective-- sorry, individual investor perspective, with the income tax relief on VCTs cut from 30% to 20% from April 2026.

So due to the income tax and capital gains tax savings available on VCTs and ISAs, they're often used as a tax efficient alternative to pension savings for those restricted by the annual allowance, for example. So again, we're going to pick up some of those changes in more detail in our January webinar on that topic on alternative ways to save for retirement for high earners. But Ellie, just turning back to you for a moment, did we see any market reaction to some of those changes looking to incentivize that longer term investment approach?

ELEANOR INGILBY: Actually, one of the biggest market reaction we saw-- and it was quite muted, even saying biggest-- was actually on the leak, the early leak of the Budget by the OBR. It did throw markets into a little bit of a spin in the UK. But as I said, it was a relatively minor movement. However, what we did see shift was a lot of the larger home builders, the property companies.

Now, this was due mainly to a disappointment that there wasn't a reform to stamp duty and land tax. However, what we did see talking about property was the introduction of a mansion tax or so-called mansion tax. Now, this will come in April 2028. And as relatively widely expected, it introduces a tiered annual charge on properties over 2 million. Now, this was designed to try and broaden the tax base, rather than shock the system-- so more of a slow pressure on those properties, rather than an earthquake.

That said, we should not assume the market is immune. So whilst prime buyers don't generally abandon a purchase over a modest annual levy, the behavioral effects will be noticeable. We're likely to see that pricing will become stickier around that 2 million mark.

Transactions may slow slightly as buyers and sellers reassess affordability. And negotiations will almost certainly become tougher. So for homeowners, the tax simply becomes another line in the annual running costs, alongside council tax, maintenance, and the roof that perhaps gives up at the worst time. For prospective buyers, it's a reminder that affordability is an ongoing calculation, not just the figure you can see on completion day.

HELEN PERRIN: Thanks, Ellie. And we've had a few questions come in, actually. So I'll just turn to a couple of those now. What will happen to ISAs you already have? Will you still be able to transfer those to new ISA accounts regardless of amount?

ELEANOR INGILBY: Yeah, so I'm happy to take that one. So yes, it just means for new ISAs that you're opening. So say, if you're hoping to open an ISA after the restriction comes in, it would then drop to that £10,000 for a cash ISA.

HELEN PERRIN: Thank you. And was there anything in the-- sorry, Sean, were you going to say something, or Paul? No, OK.

SEAN WALSH: Oh, sorry.

HELEN PERRIN: OK. And was there anything in detail around the LISA and how that might be impacted in the future? So I think that's a consultation-- sorry, go on.

ELEANOR INGILBY: Yeah, I hope I've covered that. So the LISA really, what will happen is they will remove the LISA product and they will have a consultation period around what that might be able to transfer to. So we don't know what that is yet. But the consultation period will take place in early 2026. And hopefully, they might have some answers towards the end of 2026. But if you have an existing LISA, that will be covered during that consultation period.

HELEN PERRIN: Great, thank you. And a comment there about there not being slides. We haven't actually got any slides today. With the last minute prep last night to deliver this morning, we decided to go slideless today. And a question on NI relief on employer pension contributions. So is the NI relief on employer pension contributions unaffected i.e., it's just on salary sacrifice contributions? Correct. So as far as we can see, employer contributions will stay as are, be deductible from corporation profits, for example, and will continue as usual.

And by April 29, I'm sure there will potentially be some clever ways to get around some of that. We'll see what the future brings. In terms of the mansion tax, how does the value of the property get calculated each year? Do we have the detail of that yet?

ELEANOR INGILBY: Yeah, I believe that's something they're going to look at. So my understanding at the moment is it'll be linked to the council band, which is vastly overdue a kind of reassessment. So I think that's how they're going to try and do it. But again, what we often see with these Budgets, sadly, is they will announce something, and it sounds like a brilliant headline, and then they'll spend a couple of months trying to work out how to actually put it into practice. And that's very common. As we saw from the last Budget, they're still working out how those changes around pensions are actually going to technically apply.

HELEN PERRIN: Thank you. And then a question here. Will the LISA [INAUDIBLE] be removed completely, do you think? So I think the idea is that the new product will replace it. So those who already have LISAs, I suspect, will continue as normal. And then there'll be something coming in to replace that in the future.

But as we say, the consultation is ongoing. So we'll get the detail of that hopefully soon.

And so one thing that was widely rumored prior to the Budget was inheritance tax and potential cuts to lifetime gifting and some measures to increase the take from IHT. Sean, do you want to talk us through what happened and what didn't happen and what that might mean for our estate planning?

SEAN WALSH: Yeah. Morning, everybody. On inheritance tax, as Helen just said, there was lots of rumors about stuff being changed. In reality, the changes were quite minimal. So the tax-free allowance of 325 that is available and the direct descendant residential real rate band have both been frozen for an additional year until April 2031, along with all the other allowances. That was one announcement.

The next one was that the changes announced previously to limit the protection from inheritance when passing on farms or qualifying businesses remain unchanged. However, it was announced that any unused part of the 1 million pound allowance can be transferred to a spouse or civil partner. These changes come into effect in April 26 and will have a significant impact on farmers, landowners, and business owners. So it's really, really important, if anybody's in that camp or knows somebody, it's really important to take advice now, as these new rules have been ratified and they will impact heavily.

In the background, though, we were expecting, and a lot of people took action about changes to inheritance tax. And luckily, they've been pushed down the road, although nothing's been certain. But we do expect that changes will come. Just to give it some background, inheritance tax currently only represents about 1% of the tax take for the government. So only about 5% of estates on death fall under inheritance tax.

From a financial perspective, the figures from 22/23 were 6.7 billion. The expectation is that this year will be 9.1 billion. And the Office for Budget Responsibility is basically saying by 2030, it will be 14.3 billion. And they expect that estates that currently is around 5% will grow to 10%. So it is a significantly growing part of the tax situation.

So although changes have been denied this year, we do expect that changes will come because it's going to be a significant part of the tax take moving forward. And it's all down to those of us that are in the baby boomer generation. That generation is people who are born between 1945 and 1964. Both here and, for example, in the US, it's been talked about as the biggest wealth transfer in history for our generation. So governments all around the world are going to want to get some part of that.

So what we're saying is this is really a call to action. There's no immediate changes other than the ones I've just talked through. But we do expect some changes to come in the near future. I think it's undeniable that it will come under the radar. So what we're saying to people is, take some action now. If you have estate issues, if your estate is significant, or you're worried about inheritance tax, along the lines with salary sacrifice, that's going to be around now for 3.5 further years, it's really, really important that you seek advice and take action today, or start to do that. Now, there are some other options. We were expecting gifts to be changed and wealth tax allowances for people's lives and so on. They're unchanged currently. So there's things there that can be well taken care of over the next period.

HELEN PERRIN: Great, thanks, Sean. So still lots of opportunities there for estate planning, which is good news for those looking to reduce their estate. Question come in-- can a summary be provided in writing? Yep, we've got a summary to follow with a recording of the webinar hopefully later today, as soon as we get the recording back from the editing team. Just checking if we cover-- I think we've covered all questions so far, but do keep them coming if you have any more questions. And we'll just talk through some options for individual support as well for those who are looking to make some changes to their personal finances to make use of the options that are still there for now.

So starting with WTW's individual financial guidance service, so that's a service that's available to elect any time on your benefits platform, as an any time event or in your enrollment window. Guidance is delivered by our regulated financial planning team. The service is intended to help you with your financial planning at a strategic level and make optimal use of the employee benefit options available to you. So through that guidance service, we'll review your financial plans and make some suggestions for any improvements, including how you can make use of the employee benefit options available to you and wider financial options to manage your money.

And again, still a salary sacrifice benefit. So you can see the cost of that service on your screen. So it's £500 gross. But you do save tax and and NI on it. So it will cost somewhere between 290, 360 depending on your tax position. And typically, that will be collected over a 12-month period-- so £30 a month or less.

So through guidance, we can support you at strategic level, help you make the most of your employee benefit options, talk about wider options. But what we can't do is make specific recommendations for regulated financial products. So if anybody did need that specific recommendation or ongoing wealth management, cash flow modeling, some of the great tools that we use as financial planners, you would need to move to advice. And Paul will talk us through how to engage with atomos to explore advice needs, if that's right for you.

PAUL GORDON: Thanks, Helen. Yeah, following on, for those of you that do need specific recommendations, as Sean mentioned, the one thing that was really curious with this Budget is that the elements that didn't change. So now really could be a good time to look at financial planning both for the current position but also for your future. You can see on the slide that we're able to assist across the board from retirement planning and portfolio management all the way through to, as Helen mentioned, as did Ellie earlier on about cash flow modeling, factoring in the likes of mansion tax, if you are an EV car driver, the impact of that increased tax, and so on.

Working down to minutia detail, trying to outline how your current situation would work, but also what it would mean if you chose to ease back at work, or you had a debt that was cleared or wasn't cleared, and so on. The role of atomos and our planners is to try and outline, within about a 30 minute or so discovery meeting, how we think we can assist, and then take that forward with a meeting with a financial planner to outline how we can look to benefit you, your families, and your finances moving forwards.

HELEN PERRIN: Great, thank you, Paul. So as I say, we will send a summary of today's session out to you. We're also going to have a series of webinars running into next year, digging into more detail around some of these topics. So I've mentioned our retirement annual allowance planning session coming up on the 12 of January.

We have a session on the 4 of December looking at financial planning around divorce and separation for those that it's relevant to. We have an inheritance tax session coming up in February. And we're looking at short-term cash options and things like later life planning as well in the new year.

So I'll just post a link to our webinar series for those of you who want to register. The dates up till the end of January are on that live now. And we'll be sending an e-card out later in December to let you know what's coming up in the new year.

Some more questions come in. So is the guidance available to be booked through FlexSmart at the moment and can be booked at any time event. Yep, so the guidance service for those on FlexSmart, the window is open now to book for guidance. But you can, during the year, book that as in any time event, if you prefer. If you book in the current enrollment window, the cost will be collected over the 12 months from January to December. If you book later in the year, it will be collected over the remaining months of the year. So lots of flexibility around that.

I don't think there's any more questions, but do keep them coming if you have any. Otherwise, thank you very much for joining today. A big thank you to our speakers from atomos to Paul, Ellie, and Sean for taking us through some of those key changes. And as I say, we'll dig into some of the detail and the topics over the next year or so. So do look out for those dates.

Just also need to share our limitations reliance slides to caveat that the information shared today is for information only. Don't rely on it for advice. If you want to take advice or guidance, there are processes we follow to understand your circumstances and objectives and get the right support to you. So our limitations of reliance and similar from atomos.

Just a couple of questions coming in. So is the £500 cost just for one-off call or the advice going forward too? So that relates to the guidance, I believe. So the guidance service is a process where we get you to complete a confidential questionnaire. We have a video call with you. We follow up with a written summary with some of the things that we've agreed. And then you've got the opportunity to go back to your financial planner to ask for questions, clarification, to discuss over the next 12 months.

When it's a follow-up call, that's included in the cost. If you came back to us in five years time and said, well, my circumstances have changed, I need to revisit this, that would be a new guidance appointment, and you'd need to subscribe again on the flexible benefits platform. Hopefully, that answers that one for you.

We also have a helpline and an email address. If you've got specific questions, you can call that or email in and we'll support you in understanding if the service is right for you. I think a couple of people have tried to put their hand up to ask questions. Unfortunately, I think we've only got the Q&A function. I don't think I can actually give people the mic, or allow them to ask questions verbally.

So if you do have questions, if you pop them in the Q&A, we will answer those for you. And I'll just give it a couple of minutes to see if those questions come through. Oh, hold on, we've got one. Are there any other measures I can take to avoid paying IHT? Sean, do you want to pick that one up.

SEAN WALSH: I think the best thing to do is to review what gifts you're making within the allowances that are already there. They're fairly small regularly, £3,000 and £250 to as many people as you want. Other than that, they go back 40 years now, so they're really out of sync with the values today. I think it's a case of making use of, while they're still there, gifts under the seven-year rule.

And then potentially one thing that's really unused is gifting out of unused income. That was one thing that I really did think would become under the radar. I do expect that to come under the radar in the near future. So there are two things if you look them up. If you gift out of capital, you've got to survive for seven years for it to be outside of your estate.

If you gift out of unused income at the end of the tax year, it's immediately outside of your estate, as long as you go through the process and keep the correct record. So that stuff we can help you with. There is obviously information online. But they're the two main reasons we would expect people to follow in terms of avoiding inheritance tax in a managed way.

HELEN PERRIN: Great, thank you, Sean. And as you say, still lots of time to act with the not as many changes as we're perhaps expecting on the inheritance tax front. So I hope everyone's found today useful. I'm just going to post a feedback survey. It'd be great to get a few minutes of your time just to complete that.

And if you do have any particular topics that you'd like us to follow up on, do get in touch with me, and we'll add those to the agenda for next year. Can't see any more questions coming in. We'll hang on for a couple of minutes just in case. But otherwise, thank you very much for attending. I hope you found it useful. And have a great rest of the day.