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“Act now, not after the Budget” — advisers share key year-end financial planning tips

ended 04. November 2025

With the Chancellor’s Budget weeks away, financial planners are encouraging you to take action to make the most of this year’s allowances — before possible tax changes are announced. Financial planner Scott Gallacher of Rowley Turton, Leicester, says pre-Budget planning can make an enormous difference:

“The run-up to a Budget is always a time for careful planning.
We’ve seen allowances cut or frozen with little warning, so it pays to make use of what’s available while you still can.”

Gallacher’s top pre-Budget planning checks include:

  1. Bed & ISA: Crystallise gains and reinvest inside an ISA to shelter future growth.
  2. Use your CGT allowance: The annual CGT exemption is just £3,000 — use it or lose it.
  3. Review investment bonds: Check for chargeable event gains and consider top-slicing relief.
  4. Boost pension contributions: Use your £60,000 annual allowance — and carry forward unused allowances from the previous three years.

We’re asking experts:

  • What other financial planning opportunities should clients consider before the Budget?
  • Are there specific allowances, reliefs, or strategies that risk being reduced or abolished?
  • How are you helping clients prepare for possible tax or pension reforms?

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Scott Gallacher
Director at Rowley Turton
Whilst Budgets can be a bit of a boring affair, Chancellors can use them to change the rules overnight.

So, if there’s an exemption or allowance you should be using, or a tax-planning opportunity you can take advantage of, it's dangerous to delay and assume nothing will change. Waiting until after the Chancellor has spoken — by which time it’s often too late to act — can be costly.

I encourage everyone to review their financial affairs now, as taking action before the Budget can save you a lot more than waiting to see what happens on the day.