Well, here we are again.

The start of a new tax year is upon us, bringing with it many opportunities to save tax (legally) and keep as much of your money in your hands, and away from Gordon Brown's.

The budget was a bit of a damp squib, so let's look at some of the best ways to save tax!

Now, it's possible you've heard of some of these ideas, but are you actually using them? I've heard many clients say they've heard of something, then admit they've done nothing about it. Don't let this be you...

On with the tips.

1. Use an offset mortgage to reduce the amount of tax you pay on your deposit savings. If you have, say, 20,000 in a deposit account and it's earning interest of 3% AER, the gross amount is 600. There's a further 120 (20%) taken in income tax at source, plus another 120 tax if you're a higher rate taxpayer. Therefore, the net interest is only 1.8%.

Now let's say you have a mortgage of 100,000 at 5% interest, meaning you're paying 5,000 pa to service the loan.

Now you place the 20,000 in an offset account, which means that you're now paying interest on 80,000, which is 4,000 pa.

Let's see what you've achieved. You WERE earning 360 pa interest on the 20,000. Now you're saving 1,000 pa on the mortgage payment, giving you a net gain of 640! You would actually need another 36,000 in deposit savings to equal the offset savings.

The other plus is that you now don't have savings interest to declare on your tax return.

2. If you don't want a flexible mortgage, or don't have a mortgage, you can still save tax. If your spouse is not working and has no income you should place the deposit savings in their name. For example, if you have 50,000 in a deposit account and are paying 40% tax on this, you'll only be earning 900 pa on 3% gross interest. If this is in the name of the non-earner you'll get another 600 in interest. The non-earner can apply for the money to be paid gross by completing form IR85, available from your tax office.

3. Linked to the above tip, you should also make sure you're getting the best interest rate on any deposit savings. ING are currently paying 4.5% AER. So, if you duplicate the example above, you'd earn 2250 pa. When compared to the original figure of 900 pa, this is an increase of 150%!

4. If you employ your spouse in your practice, there's a way in which they can potentially qualify for a basic state pension, without paying National Insurance. If you pay them less than 84 pw they don't qualify for the pension. If you pay them more than 84 and less than 97 pw they will qualify for basic state pension.

Any employment of a spouse must be done on a commercial basis and you should qualify and confirm this with your accountant or the Department of Work and Pensions.

5. Use the new pension rules to boost your retirement funds. For the 2006/07 tax year you can contribute up to 215,000 to your pension and receive full tax relief, or 100% of your earnings if lower. If you're self employed this is particularly useful to reduce your tax bill. Remember, if you're a higher rate taxpayer you'll get 40% relief on your contributions.

6. Buy Pension Term Assurance instead of 'normal' life assurance. If you have, or are considering buying life cover, you can now get tax relief on your contributions. So, instead of paying 100 pm for protection, you may be able to get the same level of cover for 60 pm. Over a 20 year term this amounts to 9,600!

7. Observe what your accountant is doing for you. Is your accountant simply following your orders and producing your accounts, or is he/she proactively working with you to increase your profits by either helping you to increase turnover or reduce costs?

Ultimately, it's YOU who signs off the accounts and YOU who the taxman will chase with any queries, so make sure you're claiming for everything you should, and not for items you shouldn't.

The Financial Tips Bottom Line:

Saving tax is really about being organised and working alongside the right tax professionals over the long term. By structuring your affairs to your advantage, it's possible you could give yourself a pay increase without earning any more money. Take the time to think how you can save more money and then take the necessary action!