A checklist for seasoned investors at the end of the year

Before any tax-free savings and investment allowances expire at the end of the 2025–2026 tax year, time is of the essence

However, the deadline for some tax-saving plans is even earlier for seasoned investors.

The weeks preceding the end of the 2025 - 2026 tax year are of particular interest to high net worth and seasoned investors seeking tax benefits and eager to do more than simply increase their ISA or pension.

In order to take advantage of the use-it-or-lose-it allowances offered by some government-backed programs, such as venture capital trusts (VCTs), enterprise investment schemes (EIS), and seed enterprise investment schemes (SEIS), interested investors must act quickly before the official end of the current tax year on April 5.

With the promise of income tax savings, EIS, SEIS, and VCTs are intended to entice investment in early-stage businesses. These are also far riskier products, and only wealthy people who can afford to lose money if the company fails (which is more likely to happen with young companies) and seasoned investors who are aware of the risks are appropriate for them.

In light of this, interested investors have a much earlier deadline than April 5th to submit applications to invest in EIS, SEIS, and VCTs. Additionally, investors must act immediately to take advantage of the April changes to the tax incentives for VCTs.

Wealth Club's chief investment strategist, Susannah Streeter, stated: "This year, preparing for the end of the tax year deadlines could turn into a migraine for high net worth investors with multiple sources of income or complicated tax arrangements.

"The 2025 Budget included yet more tax adjustments, further complicating matters at a time when tax rates are still at their highest levels during peacetime. Therefore, rather than waiting until the last minute, investors who want to lower their tax bills should take action now.

An experienced investor's checklist for the end of the tax year.

6 weeks prior to the tax year's end.

The actual deadlines will be earlier, even though the deadlines for investing span the final two weeks of the tax year. For example, some VCTs use the earliest deadline for investing on March 23 and the last to close their books at noon on April 2.

This comes down to offer capacity, which is the highest sum of money a particular VCT hopes to raise from investors when making a new share offer. According to Streeter, the most popular VCT offers are already approaching capacity and are probably going to be fully subscribed before their deadlines are reached. Take this example.

Molten Ventures VCT (93 percent full), Albion VCTs (87 percent full), and Northern VCTs (94 percent full) "Investors whose shares are allotted in the current tax year can still benefit from 30 percent income tax relief, even though VCT income tax relief is scheduled to drop to 20 percent from 2026/27. According to Streeter, there is a strong incentive to complete a VCT now rather than waiting until the following tax year.

A VCT allows you to invest up to £200,000 per tax year.

The end of the tax year is five weeks away.

Investors seeking to invest in SEIS funds have only have until 27 February to invest in funds deploying capital in the 2025/26 tax year, including, for example:

"That said, investors whose funds are deployed in 2026/27 may still use the carry back option to apply their SEIS income tax relief to 2025/26," Streeter noted in reference to the Fuel Ventures SEIS Fund (27 February) and the SFC Angel Fund SEIS (27 February).

Investors can handle shares purchased in the current tax year as though they were purchased in the prior tax year thanks to carryback. You can use this to claim income tax relief against your tax bill from the prior year.

Investing through SEIS can reduce your income taxes by up to 50%. Every tax year, you may invest up to £200,000 in SEIS.

Two weeks prior to the tax year's conclusion.

According to Streeter, "investors in EIS funds will find some have already closed for the 2025/26 tax year, but there are some remaining open with the latest deadline on March 27." These consist of:

Fuel Ventures Follow-on EIS Fund (27 March) Guinness EIS (6 March) Haatch EIS Fund (6 March) EIS investors who deploy their funds in 2026/27 can still apply their EIS income tax relief to 2025/26 by using the carryback option, just like SEIS investors can.

You can get up to 30% in income tax relief when you invest in EIS. Up to £1 million or £2 million can be invested annually if the business is "knowledge intensive."

A week prior to the tax year's conclusion.

The deadlines are from March 30 to April 3 at noon for investors in Knowledge Intensive EIS funds. Investors in these funds, which are managed by Parkwalk and Molten Ventures, receive a single 2025 - 2026 EIS certificate after 90% of their capital has been invested.

Deadlines for the previous week.

ISOs.

You can still deposit up to £20,000 in ISAs this tax year until one minute before midnight, and all income, interest, and capital gains are tax-free, if the riskier EIS, SEIS, and VCTs are not for you. According to Streeter, "you can also add up to 9,000 into a Junior ISA with providers by debit card up until 11:30 p.m., but if completing a bank transfer this needs to be done by 11:59 p.m. on 4th April."

Pensions.

Self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) allow you to contribute up to 60,000 per year, though high earners may only be able to contribute as little as 10,000. Investors have the option to add up to this sum or their annual income, whichever is less. According to Streeter, "bank transfers may be restricted to before 12pm (noon) on that day, but some providers will accept debit card payments into pensions up to 30 minutes before midnight on April 5th."