Confusion over tax year end

Thousands of Scots risk missing out on valuable tax allowances because they don’t know when the tax year ends, Standard Life has claimed.

Almost three in ten adults in Scotland believe it ends today, a further 5 per cent think it’s on 1 April, while 12 per cent think the tax year end is after 5 April, including nearly a fifth of people with individual savings accounts (Isas). However 35 per cent of Scots (above the UK average) are aware that 5 April is the last day of the tax year.

Just 36 per cent of Isa holders quizzed correctly identified the date the date on which the tax year ends, meaning the remainder potentially miss out on the chance to top up their annual tax-free allowance.

Standard Life’s Julie Russell said: “It’s a real concern that so many Isa investors don’t know when the annual cut off point is for their investments.”