We are rapidly approaching the end of the tax year and, soon thereafter, Gordon Brown's 10th anniversary as Chancellor. Political speculation suggests he will not be in his current post for much longer, but his elevation and a move along the street are unlikely to presage a change in the Government's tax policy.

The Chancellor has made much of his promise not to raise personal tax rates but we all know that this has not prevented a rise in the level of taxation.

The Government continues to tighten the tax regime, with an emphasis on anti-avoidance and the prompt closure of loopholes. Esoteric tax planning now comes with heavy caveats and the need to set sums aside for contributions to a fighting fund to meet HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) challenges.

However, the imminent arrival of the end of the tax year reminds us that there are basic, tried and tested tax planning opportunities that we can all take advantage of. With a few weeks to spare, there is still time to effect this planning by 5 April, 2007.

Common tax planning techniques

The most significant opportunity is to invest in your pension fund. The contribution rules changed on 6 April, 2006, on what is known as 'A-Day'. It is now possible to pay contributions within a tax year of up to £215,000 gross, or the level of your earnings, if lower. The contributions are paid net of basic rate tax, so the maximum cash contribution necessary is £167,000. You subsequently obtain higher rate tax relief of 18% through your tax return and a £38,700 reduction in your tax bill on a maximum contribution. In effect, a £215,000 contribution to your pension fund costs you £129,000.

Non-taxpayers may invest up to £3,600 gross (i.e. a net payment of £2,808) in pensions each year. Should you wish, you can thus contribute to modest pension funds for your spouse, children or grandchildren. We are now seeing clients making such investments, driven by concerns over the new tax treatment of accumulation and maintenance trusts or simply a desire to lock funds away for the benefit of children/grandchildren in future years.

Family tax planning also involves the tax-efficient holding of cash and share savings. The 40% higher tax bracket kicks in with income totalling approximately £38,000. If your spouse's income is below this, there is a tax benefit in holding bank deposits in your spouse's name and transferring shares into their name. It is relatively easy to effect such transfers.

Alternatively, if you do not want to lose total control of the cash funds, a transfer of your bank account into joint names at least reduces the tax on half of the annual interest income.

Two tax planning opportunities are available for those who own rental property. Firstly, it will again be tax-efficient to hold the property in joint names – at least, if your spouse is not a higher rate taxpayer. Secondly, HMRC have outlined circumstances in which they are happy for the equity in a rental property to be withdrawn and replaced by debt on which tax relief can be obtained on the interest payments.

Sticking to the basics, an often-overlooked tax relief is that of 'gift aid' charitable donations. Charities are now quite good at getting you to 'tick the box' so that they can reclaim basic rate tax relief on your donations. But neither charities nor the Government are so good at pointing out that higher-rate taxpayers are entitled to further tax relief personally on their gift aid contributions. Higher rate tax relief is available by claim on your tax return, thus reducing your tax bill. If your spouse is only a basic rate taxpayer, it is more tax-efficient for you to make any gift aid charitable donations, as it is only you who is entitled to the higher-rate tax relief.

Reference to basic tax planning also encompasses individual savings accounts (ISAs). Modest equity savings can be effected by investing up to £7,000 per annum in ISAs. An ISA suffers no tax on dividend income and no capital gains tax on any trading on the underlying funds by the unit manager. All adults are entitled to invest in ISAs, so you could assist your spouse or adult children in investing in ISAs, should you wish.

The recent stock market revival has brought another straightforward tax planning technique to the fore – the use of the annual capital gains tax (CGT) exemption.

It is possible to realise gains of up to £8,800 in aggregate in 2006-07 before CGT becomes payable. This exemption does not get carried forward if not used, so review your portfolio to see if some gains can be triggered and realised tax-free within this exemption. To add an element of sophistication, review whether there are any investments standing at a loss, which could be sold to realise the loss and offset against gains beyond the annual exemption.

Your spouse will also have an £8,800 CGT exemption for 2006-07. You can transfer assets tax-free to your spouse, who can then sell them to use their exemption – doubling the exemption used.

Other considerations

A significant tax planning opportunity currently remains for those who are not domiciled in the UK. Non-domiciliaries are only taxed in the UK on their UK income. Any overseas income is only taxed here if it is remitted to the UK, so it can be very tax-efficient to accumulate wealth offshore. If funds are needed here, capital should be remitted rather than any accumulated income.

The Government has indicated it is reviewing the tax position of non-domiciliaries but this review has been ongoing for several years now with no sign of action yet.

Other tax planning opportunities to take advantage of are specific tax breaks introduced by the Government to encourage particular investment sectors and/or to compensate for extra risk. The tax breaks are annual, so there are only a few weeks left to take advantage of the 2006-07 reliefs. Additionally, now is the time when most of the products are available.

Enterprise Zone Trusts allow you to invest in collective units investing in commercial property in designated 'enterprise zones'. Roughly 95% of your investment will qualify for a capital allowance effecting 40% tax relief. The annual rental income the investor subsequently receives is taxable, but interest on any borrowings taken to make the investment is deductible from the rental income.

You are able to invest up to £400,000 in fresh shares issued by qualifying companies under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and obtain 20% income tax relief on the investment. EIS investments made in 2006-07 can also be used to shelter 2006-07 capital gains.

Investments in venture capital trusts (VCTs) allow 30% income tax relief. Up to £200,000 can be invested in VCTs in 2006-07. For some, investing in film partnerships has been an attractive route. An initial loss is incurred on which 40% tax relief is available. The Film Partnership products are usually structured to produce a return of the investment, and thus a claw-back of the original tax relief via a flow of taxable income over the subsequent 15 years. Such partnerships produce a tax cashflow benefit rather than an absolute saving.

Although film partnerships are a specific tax break introduced by the Government, they are an investment product that HMRC seems keen to challenge, arguing that the specific product has strayed outside the tax relief rules. Thus, in recent years the initial tax relief has flowed swiftly on some, while protracted arguments have delayed others. The need for quality advice is, therefore, paramount.

To conclude, there are many opportunities to increase your own tax-efficiency, sometimes by quite simple measures or record-keeping. If looking to make investments by 5 April, 2007, to obtain a tax break, do take a step back to ensure that the investment makes commercial sense to you. Do not simply invest to get 40% tax relief if the further consequence of losing money on the remainder would worry you. Despite the recent inroads made to curb tax saving, there are still many ways of doing so which provide positive results.

Louis Baker is a partner and head of partners' tax at Horwath Clark Whitehill