Simple tax advice from Sidmouth Financial Planner Denese Molyneux

It was Benjamin Franklin who is purported to have said that, 'Nothing in this world is certain, except death and taxes'.

The great thing about taxes (apart from the fact that they pay for essential services such as the NHS, police, defence and education) is that they follow rules.

If you know what the rules are you can use them to your advantage. This does not mean tax evasion – but it does mean taking advantage of the allowances available to you.

The one tax that pretty much everyone will end up paying at one time or another is income tax.

Whether you are employed, self-employed or financially independent, depending upon your circumstances this tax year you could have £15,500 of income completely income tax free.

That's made up of your personal allowance of £12,500, the personal savings allowance of £1,000 and dividend allowance of £2,000.

If you own your own home and need extra income you could rent out a room for up to £7,500 per year totally income tax free.

Anyone can invest up to £20,000 per year into an Individual Savings Account (ISA) and any income generated is tax free. Growth is capital gains tax free too – so double benefits.

Premium Bond winnings are tax free too. There's no guarantee of a win but if you strike the jackpot of £1,000,000 it's all yours. You can hold up to £50,000 in Premium Bonds.

If you do pay income tax you can reduce the liability by diverting income to your pension. For every £100 paid into a pension you will receive £20 of your tax back. That's a great boost to your savings.

Benjamin Franklin was right. My caveat to his statement is that there is nothing more certain than that tax rates will change with whichever chancellor happens to be standing at the despatch box on budget day. Don't assume that whatever worked a little while ago is still the best way to proceed. Always seek advice.

Written by Denese Molyneux - Molyneux Financial Planning