New Tax Year Planning for HNW Clients: What Advisers Should Prioritise in 2026/27

The clock resets today

Today, 6 April 2026, marks the start of a new tax year. For wealth advisers serving high net worth clients, this is not a routine administrative date. It is the single most important planning trigger in the calendar.

The 2026/27 tax year brings no dramatic headline changes. But that is precisely the problem. The continued freeze on key thresholds means fiscal drag is doing the heavy lifting for HMRC, pulling more of your clients’ income and gains into higher tax brackets without any legislation required.

Advisers who act early in the tax year, rather than scrambling in March, will deliver measurably better outcomes for their clients. Here is what to focus on.

The frozen threshold problem

The personal allowance remains at GBP 12,570. The higher rate threshold stays at GBP 50,270. The additional rate kicks in at GBP 125,140. These figures have not moved since 2021, and they are frozen until at least April 2028 ↗.

For HNW clients with rising incomes, this is a year-on-year tax increase by stealth. A client earning GBP 200,000 in 2021 and GBP 240,000 in 2026 pays significantly more tax despite no change in rates. The additional GBP 40,000 is taxed at 40% or 45%, and the personal allowance taper further compounds the burden.

Key frozen thresholds for 2026/27

Threshold	Amount	Frozen since
Personal allowance	GBP 12,570	April 2021
Higher rate threshold	GBP 50,270	April 2021
Additional rate threshold	GBP 125,140	April 2023
CGT annual exempt amount	GBP 3,000	April 2024
Dividend allowance	GBP 500	April 2024
ISA annual allowance	GBP 20,000	April 2017

The cumulative effect of these freezes is substantial. Advisers who can quantify this for their clients, showing the year-on-year impact in pounds and pence, will reinforce the value of proactive planning.

Capital gains tax: smaller allowances demand sharper strategies

The CGT annual exempt amount of GBP 3,000 is a fraction of what it was just three years ago (it was GBP 12,300 until April 2023). For HNW clients with diversified portfolios, this dramatically changes the planning calculus.

Strategies to consider early in the tax year

CGT harvesting. Review portfolios for positions with unrealised gains and losses. Crystallising gains up to the GBP 3,000 exempt amount each year, while offsetting larger gains against available losses, is basic hygiene that too many advisers leave until March.

Spousal transfers. Transfers between spouses are exempt from CGT. If one spouse has unused allowances or is in a lower tax band, restructuring asset ownership can reduce the overall tax bill meaningfully.

Bed and ISA. Selling holdings and repurchasing within an ISA wrapper crystallises gains (using the annual exempt amount where possible) while sheltering future growth from tax entirely.

EIS and SEIS deferrals. For clients with significant gains, Enterprise Investment Scheme and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme investments can defer or reduce CGT liabilities, though these carry higher investment risk and require careful due diligence on qualifying criteria ↗.

Pension contributions: the most powerful tool in the box

With the lifetime allowance now abolished, pensions have become an even more attractive vehicle for HNW clients. The annual allowance of GBP 60,000 (or 100% of relevant UK earnings if lower) applies for 2026/27, and clients can carry forward unused allowances from the three preceding years.

For a higher rate taxpayer, a GBP 60,000 pension contribution delivers immediate tax relief of GBP 24,000 at 40%, or GBP 27,000 at 45% for additional rate taxpayers. That is a guaranteed return before any investment growth.

Key pension planning actions

• Check carry-forward availability. Review the client’s contributions for 2023/24, 2024/25, and 2025/26. Any unused annual allowance can be carried forward into 2026/27, potentially allowing contributions well above GBP 60,000.
• Consider employer contributions. Contributions made by an employer are not subject to income tax or employee National Insurance, making them more efficient than personal contributions for clients who control their remuneration structure.
• Review the tapered annual allowance. Clients with adjusted income above GBP 260,000 see their annual allowance reduced by GBP 1 for every GBP 2 of income above this threshold, down to a minimum of GBP 10,000. Plan around this to avoid unexpected tax charges.
• Revisit death benefit nominations. With the lifetime allowance gone, pension pots can grow without cap. Ensure beneficiary nominations are current, as pensions remain outside the estate for inheritance tax ↗ purposes (subject to potential future changes).

ISA planning: small allowance, big compound effect

The ISA allowance of GBP 20,000 ↗ has been frozen since 2017. For clients with portfolios of GBP 2 million or more, it can feel insignificant. That is a mistake.

A couple contributing GBP 40,000 per year to stocks and shares ISAs, growing at 6% annually, accumulates over GBP 550,000 of tax-free capital in a decade. When CGT rates of 20% or 24% apply to gains outside the wrapper, the ISA shelter becomes increasingly valuable with every year of frozen thresholds.

The priority actions are straightforward:

• Fund ISAs on day one of the tax year. This maximises time in the market and avoids the risk of forgetting in March.
• Use bed and ISA strategically. Sell existing holdings, crystallise gains within the annual exempt amount, and repurchase inside the ISA.
• Consider AIM ISAs for IHT planning. AIM-listed shares held for two years qualify for Business Relief, potentially making them exempt from inheritance tax. Holding them within an ISA adds CGT and income tax sheltering on top.

Inheritance tax: the elephant in the room

For many HNW clients, inheritance tax at 40% above the nil rate band (GBP 325,000, frozen since 2009) represents their single largest tax liability. The residence nil rate band adds GBP 175,000 for qualifying estates, but for clients with assets above GBP 2 million, this additional allowance is tapered away entirely.

Planning strategies for 2026/27

Annual gifting. Each individual can gift GBP 3,000 per year free of IHT, and this allowance can be carried forward for one year if unused. Regular gifts from surplus income (the “normal expenditure out of income” exemption) are also exempt, with no upper limit, provided the client can demonstrate a pattern of giving that does not affect their standard of living.

Trust structuring. For clients with complex family situations or concerns about beneficiary capability, trusts remain a core planning tool. Chargeable lifetime transfers into trust are subject to a 20% charge above the nil rate band, but careful use of the GBP 325,000 threshold and periodic planning can mitigate this.

Pension funding. As noted above, pensions currently sit outside the estate for IHT purposes. For clients who do not need their pension for retirement income, this is one of the most effective IHT planning tools available.

Charitable giving. Gifts to charity are exempt from IHT, and estates that leave 10% or more to charity benefit from a reduced IHT rate of 36% instead of 40%. For philanthropically minded clients, this aligns tax efficiency with personal values.

Dividend and investment income planning

The dividend allowance ↗ remains at just GBP 500. For clients with significant equity portfolios or business interests, this means nearly all dividend income is taxed at 33.75% (higher rate) or 39.35% (additional rate).

Advisers should review:

• Asset location. Hold dividend-paying equities inside ISAs or pensions where possible, and favour accumulation share classes in taxable accounts to defer income recognition.
• Corporate structures. For business owners, the interaction between salary, dividends, and pension contributions requires annual modelling. The optimal mix changes as thresholds and rates evolve.
• Multi-asset allocation. A well-constructed multi-asset portfolio can reduce reliance on dividend income by incorporating growth-oriented and tax-efficient asset classes.

The adviser’s competitive advantage

Proactive tax year planning is one of the clearest ways to demonstrate value to HNW clients. Research consistently shows that what clients value most is not raw investment performance, but the sense that their adviser is thinking ahead on their behalf.

A structured planning conversation in April, covering pensions, CGT, ISAs, IHT, and income structuring, positions you as indispensable. It also provides natural documentation for Consumer Duty purposes, evidencing that you are delivering good outcomes through proactive, personalised advice.

For advisers looking to build long-term enterprise value in their practice, this kind of disciplined, repeatable process is exactly what acquirers and clients alike reward.

Getting the infrastructure right

Delivering this level of tax-aware planning at scale requires the right tools and platform. Advisers working within a turnkey MFO framework benefit from consolidated reporting across asset classes, integrated tax lot tracking, and the ability to model scenarios before executing trades.

The difference between a reactive adviser who files CGT returns in January and a proactive adviser who plans from April is often the quality of the infrastructure behind them. Getting the platform choice right is a prerequisite, not an afterthought.

Start today, not in March

The most effective tax planning happens at the start of the tax year, not the end. Every month of delay is a month of potential ISA growth lost, a month of dividend income taxed unnecessarily, and a month closer to the year-end rush that leads to suboptimal decisions.

For HNW clients, the stakes are high. A well-executed tax year plan can save tens of thousands of pounds annually. Over a decade, compounded, that saving alone can justify your entire advisory fee many times over.

The new tax year starts today. The question is: have you already scheduled the planning conversations?