The UK tax burden has hit a 70-year excessive which sees much more of our hard-earned cash going straight to HM Revenue & Customs.

Income tax thresholds have been frozen all through to 2028, dragging tens of millions extra into the taxman’s web as incomes rise. 

This hits these of working age hardest however there isn't any escape for pensioners. More than eight million now pay tax after state pension age, up 1 / 4 in simply three years.

Yet with cautious planning it's potential for pensioners to slash their annual tax invoice, presumably to zero.

They have a variety of choices for preventing again, mentioned Gary Smith, companion in monetary planning at wealth administration agency Evelyn Partners. "There's plenty you can do to cut your tax exposure and it pays to be proactive.”

Smith calculates that it is possible for a retiree to enjoy an income of £27,227 a year without paying a penny in tax.

They can do this by using allowances available to millions.

Some could earn even more tax free, because his figures do not include returns on savings and investments held inside the annual Isa allowance.

Even if you can’t take advantage of all of the following five tax-saving steps, using just one or two could reduce your exposure to HMRC.

1. Use your personal allowance. Everyone can earn up to £12,570 a year before paying any income tax. 

Smith said: ”With the full new state pension worth £10,600 a year, pensioners can receive £1,970 of private pension income on top of that before hitting the allowance and paying tax on their retirement income.”

2. Take your pension tax-free lump sum. Pension savers can take 25 percent of their pot free of tax but many don't realise that they don't have to do it all in one go, Smith said.

“To pay no tax, set your annual withdrawal at £2,627 gross. Of this, 75 percent, or £1,970, falls within the personal allowance. The remaining 25 percent, worth £657, can be taken from the tax-free element of the pot.” 

This lifts your total tax-free income so far to £13,227 and there’s more to come.

3. Use your savings. Under the beginning charge for financial savings, decrease incomes pensioners who get earnings of lower than £12,570 a yr can take £5,000 price of financial savings curiosity a yr freed from tax.

Basic charge tax payers additionally qualify for the personal savings allowance, which permits them to earn financial savings curiosity of as much as £1,000 a yr earlier than earnings tax kicks in. This lifts their potential tax-free earnings to £19,227.

4. Don’t neglect the dividend allowance. Shares held outdoors of the tax-free Isa wrapper are liable to each dividend tax and capital good points tax, however solely above a sure restrict. 

In the present yr, traders can draw dividend earnings as much as £1,000 freed from tax and take capital good points of £6,000, too. 

That may raise their whole tax-free earnings to a possible £26,227 however Smith cautioned: “From next April, these allowances fall to £500 and £3,000 respectively.

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5. Online trading. Smith notes that everyone can also earn up to £1,000 tax-free from buying and selling on internet trading sites like eBay, under the trading allowance. This lifts the potential tax-free income total to £27,227 a year.

Couples can double most of these tax-free amounts by using both sets of allowances, he added. “Transfers of assets between married couples and those in civil partnerships do not trigger tax liabilities, allowing flexibility to achieve tax efficiency.”

Those who save or make investments contained in the £20,000 tax-free Isa wrapper can earn much more tax-free earnings, as all financial savings curiosity, dividend earnings and capital development escapes HMRC’s clutches. “It pays to save as much as you can in an Isa,” Smith said.

More sophisticated investors can seek tax-free dividends from specialist investments such as Venture Capital Trusts and tax-deferred withdrawals from offshore investment bonds, he added.

Consider other options, too. For example, the Rent-a-Room scheme permits folks to earn £7,500 a yr freed from tax from taking in a lodger.

Few will have the ability to profit from all of those allowances, however ensure you know what’s on the market. The tax financial savings could shock you.