Your seven-step tax year end checklist

The value of your investments and the income you receive from them can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Any examples are for illustration purposes only. ISA eligibility and tax rules apply.

The end of the tax year is nigh and if you listen very carefully you should be able to hear the stampede of individual savings account (ISA) contributions the closer we get to the 5 April cut-off date. To save you from joining the throngs of UK savers and investors performing panicked mental tax maths at the last second, here are seven tax-year-end pointers to keep in mind:

If I could put our first point in flashing neon lights, I would. You have until 5 April 2026 to make the most of your £20,000 ISA allowance. That doesn’t mean you have to use the whole thing, just as much as you had planned, up to the £20,000 limit. The important part to remember is that the ISA allowance doesn’t rollover into the new tax year, and you’ll get a new £20,000 ISA allowance for the 2026/27 tax year come 6 April 2026. In short, use it or lose it.

At first glance, this point might look the same as the first but there’s a key difference. While making sure you’re on the right side of the deadline is top priority, some people put it off (and end up missing the boat) because they can’t decide what to actually invest in. You don’t need to invest the cash in your ISA straight away though. If you just want to make sure you use your allowance, you can add cash now and come back later when you have a better idea of what you want to invest it in.

Locking in your allowance this way also might come in handy if you want to make your money tax efficient and drip feed it into investments over time, if the market feels volatile. Just be wary of leaving it in cash for too long. Inflation is always nibbling away at those pounds and pence and it’s been particularly hungry over the past few years.

If any investments you hold outside tax-efficient accounts like an ISA have grown through share price growth (capital gains), when it comes to selling them, they might attract capital gains tax (CGT). Sometimes, investors like to make the most of their CGT allowance (£3,000 in the current tax year) by selling those investments and rebuying them inside a stocks & shares ISA. The strategy is known as a bed & ISA and means they don’t go over their CGT allowance (meaning they won’t pay UK capital gains tax) and get to make any future performance from their investments tax efficient.

If you’ve got sizeable gains in the likes of a general investment account (GIA), which carries no tax benefits, it might be worthwhile thinking about how gradually moving these into an ISA may help. At the same time, weigh up trading costs and the fact that you’ll be out of the market while the whole thing goes through.

We all have a £500 dividend allowance in the current tax year, and the next. If your dividend income tops this, you’ll have to think about how much UK dividend tax you’ll have to pay. That makes the end of the tax year a good time to look at where your dividends are coming from and how much you have received over the past 12 months. If they’re sitting in a GIA and edging close to the £500 mark, it might make sense to consider moving them into a stocks & shares ISA. Compounding regular dividend payments is a key strategy for a lot of investors and the last thing you want is to hinder that long-term snowball effect by paying UK dividend tax if you can help it.

The end of the tax year gives us a natural checkpoint to have a big old portfolio review, especially if you’re moving stocks between accounts to be as tax efficient as possible. So, grab a cuppa and sit down with your financial goals in one hand and your stocks & shares ISA in the other.

The keen gardeners out there know that, while they’ll be planting bulbs soon, the garden will naturally be a mix of colours, shapes and sizes by the summer. Likewise, even if you set out with a strict portfolio makeup this time last year, different growth rates since then are likely to mean your ratio of assets like stocks and bonds, and the individual holdings, are likely to have changed since then.

That could mean the overall risk level of the broader portfolio doesn’t reflect where you had it and needs some spring cleaning. If that’s the case and you need to sell some assets and top others up to bring the risk profile back in line with your goals, thankfully any share sales inside your stocks & shares ISA won’t attract UK capital gains tax or affect your ISA allowance.

Platform fees, account fees, trading fees fund fees - they all add up and they might even have changed since the last tax season. Whatever you’re paying, make sure you’re seeing value for money and you getting exactly what you need from whoever you’re investing with.

Compounding can be a powerful force when it’s working for you and unreasonably high fees can eat into that potential. For reference, your Robinhood stocks & shares ISA comes with low foreign exchange fees, no commission fees and no account fees. You can see our fee breakdown here.

Why aren’t some of the most relaxed investors scrabbling round with ISA contributions and tax calculations in March and April? Well, probably because they thought about it all this time last year.

For your own sanity, plan your monthly investments or, for the earlybirds out there, think about securing as much of your allowance early in the new tax year and either invest it or drip feed it throughout the year. Doing it all early helps take advantage of time in the market but it also unloads the mental stress of haphazardly trying to work out if you’re investing in line with your end goals.

Important information

When investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your investments, and the income you receive from them, can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. Forecasts aren’t a reliable guide to future results or returns.

Make sure to do your own research on what investments are right for you before investing or consider seeking expert financial advice. Please note that this article is meant for information and does not constitute any financial advice. This is not an offer, recommendation, inducement or invitation to buy, sell, or hold any securities, or to engage in any investment activity or strategy.

Robinhood doesn’t provide tax advice. You should seek advice if you have any questions regarding the impact your investments will have on your income tax and tax filing requirements.