How to minimise tax as a first year IBD analyst? (UK)

Have you all got strategies to minimise the amount of tax you end up paying as a first year analyst?There are the obvious stuff like maxing out ISA for no capital gains, but any other ideas?

24 Comments
 

Set up a freelancing company, invest in it and deduct all your personal (and arguably business) expenses like meal and travel allowances against a non-existent taxable income to enjoy tax credits

Just kidding pls don't try

 

maximise your pension contributions. you have a limit of £40k / year (£120k over 3 years max so can do some phasing). 

you can set contribution to be everything in higher tax band ie every £ above 50k (or w/e) goes into pension contribution..including your bonus. you can do it at the 20-25% band as well but its less beneficial...might as well keep that money for ISA contribution. 

 

This - in your first 2 years max out your ISA, once you hit associate and the money starts to flow just max out the delta for the lag of the 40k allowance. 
Math goes as follows - you get 8% of base from your employer as first year (based on 50k - I KNOW SOME BANKS PAY MORE NOW BUT WHATEVER) - that is 4k - so you have 36k of free allowance. Max out your ISA - and if you have incremental savings you don’t know what to do with (i.e. you have your rainy day pot of money set) maybe chuck it to your pension. However the ideal Plan is to pay in these 36k when you are an associate where your effective tax rate would be higher (i.e. make sure that the money you put into your pension is at the max tax rate, else not tax efficient if you can carry it forward) - but then as an associate you start having to max out that pot earlier - that is before you start getting hit with the reduction in tax free pension allowance for above 240k income?

 

Hi, I can tell this comment is really useful but I can't quite follow everything. My plan was to do the following:

- Max out the 20k ISA

- Contribute any income above the current 40% tax rate threshold (i.e any earnings above £50,270) to my pension. As a first year, I do not expect to hit the maximum 40k pension contribution, even following this plan

Could you please explain what you're referring to the lag of the 40k allowance? Will my current plan limit my ability to contribute in future years?

Thanks

 

Perferendis delectus facilis amet. Ut itaque vel modi. Eum ut quae rerum sit consectetur necessitatibus quo.

Pariatur officia vitae sit harum fugit debitis. Eius enim neque corporis est illum illo suscipit. Tempore sapiente ut est quos. Neque consequuntur sequi et est modi est nisi consequatur.

Aliquid itaque architecto exercitationem quis quia qui necessitatibus. Eligendi consequatur fuga sed odio iste voluptatem eos. Omnis aliquid quaerat est. Laudantium ipsam voluptates est qui laudantium sed modi.

Quisquam et iure placeat odit laudantium ut illum. Quam commodi quos rem distinctio asperiores voluptas. Autem dolores quo non mollitia quo autem quo deserunt.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan No 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”