Tax-efficient planning strategies

Every planning technique on this node works because of ONE precise rule, and every wrong answer comes from stretching a tool beyond the tax it actually shelters — so learn each tool with its boundary attached. ISAs: exempt for income tax and CGT, IRRELEVANT for inheritance tax — the whole value stays in the estate, and no holding period changes that (the seven-year clock belongs to gifts). Pensions: broadly the mirror image — normally OUTSIDE the estate for IHT, which is why 'spend the ISA, preserve the pension' is a legitimate late-life ordering for an IHT-conscious client. Spousal transfers: no gain, no loss for CGT and exempt for IHT, for ANY asset class, which is what makes equalising ownership before a disposal a free step that unlocks two annual exempt amounts and two sets of rate bands. The CGT annual exempt amount: renews every year and never carries forward — use-it-or-lose-it is the entire reason splitting a disposal across 5 April can shelter more gain; deferral wins a second £3,000, not a lower rate. Bed and ISA: the same-day and 30-day matching rules exist to cancel sell-and-rebuy-in-place, but a repurchase INSIDE an ISA sits outside those rules — so the sale is a real disposal (crystallising gain or loss, using the exempt amount if available) and future growth is sheltered; no waiting period is needed, and pretending the transaction has no CGT consequences misses its whole point. Anticipate the exam's blur: 'tax-advantaged' is not one property — every question on this node is really asking WHICH tax a tool touches.