Money just landed. What to do in the first 30 days

A bonus, a sale, a payout, an inheritance or a lump of crypto. Six moves, in order, before you spend a penny of it.

An envelope of money arriving beside a calendar and a savings jar

Windfall4 min readAnyone who has just come into money, or knows some is coming.

The short answer

Park it. Do nothing irreversible for two weeks.
Work out which tax it is, and the date that tax is due.
Set that amount aside in a separate account, then plan with what is left.

Set aside first

Tax due

Before any spending decision

Best saving window

Same tax year

Most reliefs die at year end

Common mistake

Spending gross

Treating the whole lump as yours

Do it in this order

1Write down where the money came from. Wages and bonuses, a sale of something, rent, a gift, an inheritance and a prize are all taxed differently, and some are not taxed at all.
2Park it somewhere boring and separate. Nothing you cannot undo for two weeks.
3Find the tax and the due date. Run it through the plan builder so you have a number and a deadline, not a worry.
4Move the tax money into its own account. Now you know what is actually yours.
5Use the reliefs that expire at year end first: pension contributions, tax free savings allowances, gifts to a spouse, charity giving.
6Only then decide about property, a company, or lending it out. Those choices are easier to make well when the tax is already covered.

Only if you want the detail

The money is not all yours until you know the tax

People get caught out because the money arrives in one lump but the tax arrives up to twenty two months later, when the money has gone.

The reliefs that expire

Some savings are only available in the tax year the money arrived. These are the ones to move on first.

When it is an inheritance

In the United Kingdom inheritance tax is normally paid by the estate, not by you, so what reaches you is usually yours. The tax question then becomes what you do next with it.

What people get told, and what is true

If I put it straight into property I avoid the tax.

Buying something does not remove the tax on the money arriving. It only changes what you own.

Cash gifts from family are always tax free.

Usually yes for the person receiving, but United Kingdom gifts can still count in the giver's estate for seven years.

Now do it on your numbers

Reading is the easy half. The saving comes from applying this to your income, your country and this tax year, with the deadline written down.

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Where this comes from

General guidance, not personal advice. Anything involving a company, a trust or another country should be checked by a qualified accountant or tax adviser before you act.