12.5 million paying “too much tax” on savings and investments

More than one in every four adults in the UK (26%) are paying too much tax on savings and investments, says financial services provider NFU Mutual.
 
As many as 12.5 million adults save or invest without making use of a tax-efficient ISA even though a greater and more flexible limit of £15,000 comes into force on 1st July.
 
Just 47% have any savings or investments in ISAs according to figures from HM Revenue & Customs. It’s likely that, based on 2012 research, around 27% don’t have any savings at all, meaning the rest (26%) will be paying tax on their nest eggs.
 
“If you have savings and investments but no ISA, you could be losing out,” says Sean McCann, Chartered Financial Planner at NFU Mutual. “By not making full use of an ISA allowance, savers and investors could be giving money to the taxman unnecessarily.
 
“Putting money in an ISA is one of the simplest things to do to protect your money from the taxman and the rules are set to become even more flexible.
 
“The limit to how much each adult can save or invest in an ISA will dramatically increase on 1st July from £11,880 to £15,000 per person per tax year.
 
“Smart investors will have already made full use of this year’s allowance and will be topping up their ISAs when the limit increases. It’s about time more people did the same and stopped needlessly paying too much tax.
 
“The new ISAs will be a lot more flexible too so you can transfer cash ISAs to stocks and shares, and vice versa,” Sean concluded. “If you think you may be one of those who is missing out, it may be worth speaking to a professional financial adviser to make sure you’re making the most of your money.”