Using your allowances before 5 April 2027

Allowances for 2026/27

• ISA allowance: £20,000 a year across cash and stocks and shares ISAs
• Pension annual allowance: usually £60,000 a year, and you may be able to carry forward unused allowance from the previous three years
• Inheritance tax gift exemptions: £3,000 a year (plus last year's if unused), small gifts of up to £250 per person, and regular gifts out of surplus income
• Capital gains tax annual exempt amount: £3,000
• Dividend allowance: £500
• Personal savings allowance: £1,000 for basic-rate taxpayers and £500 for higher-rate taxpayers

Why it matters more this year

Income tax thresholds and the inheritance tax nil-rate bands are frozen until April 2031, and today's Budget raises the tax rate on savings and property income. From April 2027, unused pensions are also due to count for inheritance tax. Using allowances well is one of the simplest ways to keep more of what you have.

Before you act

The right approach depends on your income, your plans and your family. Some allowances interact – for example, pension contributions can reduce your taxable income – so it is worth looking at the whole picture rather than one allowance at a time.