Re: Thanks
For clarity... If I make a lumpsum contribution today for example, and then do my 04 tax return in the Spring, can I claim back what Im due then, even though I know I might make another contribution before Oct 05.
I presume from the talk about making a return in the spring that you may be self-employed? On the other hand I thought that the self employed return deadline was October 31st of each year? Whatever about that, I do know that if you are a PAYE worker and you make a lump sum contribution below the usual then you can simply with the relvant information (specifying which year you are claiming relief in respect of etc.) in order to get a tax refund.
My read on this is that I should wait until I determine my total earnings for 04 (sometime in early 05) and then make my lumpsum pension payment up to the amount where I can claim relief (assuming I have that money on hand and am willing to put it away), rather than trying to guesstimate now on what this amount will be. In short, I might as well wait for a few mths to put it away (only downside is that the money will be invested for a slightly shorter timeframe but as this is a long term investment for me, this is ok)
Again I'm not clear why your total earnings for 2004 would not be mostly predictable at this stage with less than two months of the tax year to go. My point about timing was simple that if you feel that you should be saving for retirement then you might want to do it sooner rather than later. If you need to top up your 2004 contribution to maximise your tax refund then you still have until October 31st 2005 to do so.
If in doubt you should get . If you are self employed then you should at least run things by your accountant.