On 6 April 2013, the 'additional' rate of income tax due on taxable income in excess of £150,000 will be reduced from 50% to 45%. The equivalent top rate of tax on dividends will be reduced from 42.5% to 37.5% which, after taking into account the notional tax credit is a fall from 36.1% to 30.6%. These are also the trust rates of tax for income and for dividends.

The Government announced these reductions in the 2012 Finance Bill, as part of its stated purpose of giving taxpayers time to adjust to tax changes. Individuals and trustees that are affected by these rate tax changes could consider deferring income or advancing reliefs. The Government's own forecasts anticipate that deferring income will result in £2.4bn of lower tax revenues for 2012/13 as a result. Some examples are set out below.

Owner managers could delay paying dividends until after 5 April 2013. A loan could be taken to cover immediate expenses, although benefit-in-kind charges on taxable cheap loans would need to be factored into the calculations. The loan would need to be cleared within nine months of the company's accounting period end to avoid a charge to tax on the company.

Employees with unapproved share options could defer the exercise of the options until after 5 April 2013. Deferring tax on salary and bonuses would be more difficult, as the general principle with earnings is that they are taxable when earned rather than when paid.

Sole traders and partnerships could bring forward expenditure into the current year in order to reduce profits charged at 50%.

Investors could consider deferring the sale of gains on non-distributor offshore funds (subject to income tax) until 2013/14. They should review any holdings in shares in qualifying trading companies, for which they had been the original subscribers; any losses realised (either by sale or negligible value claim) on such shares could be converted into income losses. This would also assist in advancing reliefs prior to the general cap being introduced on 6 April 2013.

Savers could delay closing deposit accounts or arrange for fixed-term deposits to mature after 5 April 2013.

Individuals could bring forward charitable donations into the current year, as the maximum relief available will be worth 30% in 2012/13, compared with 25% in 2013/14. They could also make the most of reliefs on contributions to pension schemes by using current year allowances and any unused prior year allowances. Where individuals have made loans, they could consider, subject to the terms of the loan agreement, deferring interest payments until after 5 April 2013.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.