Sleigh & Story

Question of the month for September:

Q: I am close to reaching the age where I can take my private pension but have no plans to retire yet. Are there tax benefits if I defer my pension until I do?

A: Yes. Judging by what you have said, you have not started to take any of your pension, whether it be the tax-free lump sum available at age 55 or a regular drawdown of income. If that is the case, you can continue to contribute up to £60k per tax year to your pension. This attracts tax relief.

If you had taken any of your pension as income, you would have triggered the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA), which is the limit on the amount you can contribute to your defined contribution pension. The limit drops from £60k to £10k, greatly reducing the maximum potential tax relief available. Also, unlike the Standard Annual Allowance of £60k, you cannot carry forward any unused MPAA from previous years.

For the latest financial news, head over to our Tax Tips and News for September 2026 by clicking on the following link:

Tax Tips and News September 2026 - Sleigh & Story Chartered Certified Accountants Welcome… To September’s Tax Tips & News, our newsletter designed to bring you tax tips and news to keep you one step ahead of the taxman. If you need further assistance just let us know or you can send us a question for our Question and Answer Section. We are committed to ensuring our clients [....

Question of the Month:

Q: As a self-employed owner of an SME, what is the most tax efficient way for me to pay myself?

A: Whether to pay yourself through salary or dividends remains one of the most important tax-planning decisions for SME owners. It can have a big impact on your tax bill and overall financial resilience.

Without knowing the details of your business set up, we can look at both options to help you decide which is best for you.

Salary is subject to income tax and national insurance; the amount taken determines whether you fall into the 20%, 40%, or 45% tax bands. Employer NICs have become more expensive: from April 2025, employers pay NICs at 15%, increasing the cost of higher PAYE salaries. Salary costs reduce your profit and thus corporation tax payable.

Dividends are paid after corporation tax on company profits, are not subject to national insurance and have lower tax rates than salary: 10.75% (basic rate), 35.75% (higher rate), 39.35% (additional rate). The dividend allowance has been reduced over recent years to just £500, making dividends less attractive than before.

A common approach is to use a hybrid of both options: Take a salary around the personal allowance (£12,570) and supplement the rest of your income with dividends. This aims to balance tax efficiency with access to state benefits and pension contributions.

For the latest financial updates, head to our website for July's Tax Tips News:

Tax tips and News July 2026 - Sleigh & Story Chartered Certified Accountants Welcome… To July’s Tax Tips & News, our newsletter designed to bring you tax tips and news to keep you one step ahead of the taxman. If you need further assistance just let us know or you can send us a question for our Question and Answer Section. We are committed to ensuring our clients […]

Sleigh and Story had the great honour of sponsoring the Young Community Champion Award of the Community Spirit Awards 2026 (Community Foundation for Calderdale). Congratulations to Hollie Shaw - the remarkable and very well deserved winner in this category. At just 21, Hollie has made a brilliant contribution as a volunteer with Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, using her own experience of living with Epidermolysis Bullosa to raise awareness and speak up for children and young people with complex needs.

The Sleigh and Story team getting ready to embark on their Shuffleboard Challenge, during the team building event in April.

Sleigh & Story Ltd is once again a proud sponsor of the Huddersfield Literature Festival, with this year being especially significant, as the festival is celebrating it's 20th anniversary and 2026 is The National Year of Reading.

The festival will be running from 6th -17th May, and features events presented by many famous faces such as Val McDermid, Simon Armitage and Joanne Harris. For further information on all the varied and inspiring events, please go to www.huddlitfest.org.uk/events

If you haven't seen any of the events run by The Huddersfield Literature Festival then why not give one of these a go?

*Early Office Closure Tuesday 21st April*
Please note that our office will be closing at 12.00 midday on Tuesday 21st April for a Company team building event.
We will re-open on Wednesday 22nd April at 9.00 am as normal.

Want to know the key points of the Spring Budget?
See full information by clicking on the link:-

Spring Statement March 2026 - Sleigh & Story Chartered Certified Accountants   Welcome to Spring Statement 2026, our newsletter designed to bring you tax tips and news to keep you one step ahead of the taxman. If you need further assistance just let us know or you can send us a question for our Question and Answer Section. We are committed to ensuring our clients receive [....

We are pleased to introduce Louisa Quilter, our new Practice Manager and Administrator. Louisa joins us after many years of working in the import, purchasing and stock control sector. She will be a great asset to the team, and will provide essential support to our clients and suppliers alike. Please join us in welcoming Louisa to Sleigh and Story.