Profit Extraction, Pensions & Company Cars 

In this second article about early tax planning measures for entrepreneurs and business owners, we take a look at tax-efficient profit extraction, pensions and company cars and the measures that you may be able to take to help mitigate your tax liability. 

(and why “associated companies” matters). 

Tax and cricket: Paul Collingwood v HMRC (2025) 

They say never meet your heroes! Paul Collingwood was one of mine, a classy all rounder, a part of the 2005 Ashes winning side led by Vaughan with Flintoff, and the winning captain of the 2010 T20 World Cup amongst other achievements.  We were at Lords in the Long Room (where else) and we exchanged a few words.  As you can tell, he made a favourable impression.

Pension and tax-efficient investment planning is an essential strategy for maximising your wealth while reducing your overall tax liability. By making smart use of pensions, you can benefit from valuable tax reliefs on contributions, tax-free growth and structured access to your funds in retirement. Alongside pensions, a range of tax-efficient investments – such as ISAs, Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs), the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) – can provide opportunities for growth while offering generous tax advantages. But as always, a well-considered and strategic approach is essential. 

Most people would rather choose who or what they leave their estate to after they've gone, rather than just hand over money to the tax man. The good news is, that as we explained in our last article, this is possible with regular and informed tax planning. Of course, different tax planning measures will suit different people and what works for you will depend on your particular circumstances but here are some key areas which you might wish to consider: 

Successful inheritance tax (IHT) planning ensures your estate is distributed according to your wishes while minimising the tax payable. Key to this is making and regularly updating your Will. Lifetime gifting, Will planning and structuring asset ownership all play crucial roles in managing IHT exposure. In the next two articles we'll highlight some of the measures you can take to ensure you mitigate your IHT liability so that you have more to spend on or leave to the people, places or things that are dear to you. 

UK land and property tax planning focuses on managing the tax implications of owning, letting or selling property in the most efficient way possible. From rental income and allowable expenses to capital gains on sale and inheritance tax considerations, the rules can be complex and vary depending on whether the property is residential, commercial or mixed-use. 

In this series of articles, you'll find tax planning tools and advice in respect of steps you can take now to mitigate your tax liabilities. Capital Gains Tax (CGT) can significantly impact the return you make when selling investments, property or other valuable assets, but with careful planning, it’s possible to reduce or even eliminate the tax you pay.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) can significantly impact the return you make when selling investments, property or other valuable assets, but with careful planning, it’s possible to reduce or even eliminate the tax you pay.