Why personal tax planning is a profitable service you’re probably overlooking

Let’s be honest. Personal tax planning has long had a bit of a branding issue in accounting firms. It's often bundled in with compliance, delivered last-minute, and rarely charged for in a way that reflects its true value. But what if it didn’t have to be that way?

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That’s exactly what we tackled in a recent webinar. With over 20 years of accounting experience we shared the real-life journey of building a fully remote, cloud-based practice and how that led to the creation of a scalable, tech-driven approach to personal tax planning.

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So, what is personal tax planning, really?

It's all about being proactive. It’s not about looking backwards and filing returns from last year. Instead, accountants can be  asking, "What can we do this year? How do we get our client to their ideal outcome?"

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Being proactive in personal tax planning goes deeper than compliance by tapping into the personal goals of your client:their financial hopes, lifestyle ambitions, business objectives. And then once you have that, you can build a strategic tax plan around those things. Tax planning, becomes a vehicle to help clients get what they really want out of life.

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Burying the myths

There are plenty of myths that keep firms from diving into personal tax planning:

• "It’s only for the wealthy"
• "It takes too much time"
• "Clients don’t want it or won’t pay for it"

But thanks to tech, the barriers to entry have plummeted. What once took a tax partner hours to work through manually can now be done by a junior in minutes.

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And when firms actually ask their clients if they want proactive support to save on tax, guess what? They say yes. Especially when the value is communicated well. It’s all in the framing: "We want to help you reach your goals and save you thousands in tax" lands far better than "Fancy paying another £40 a month?"

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Building deeper client relationships

Personal tax planning is about creating space for meaningful conversations that in turn save your clients more money and help them plan for the future.

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Clients open up more when you meet regularly, when you ask what they want from their life and business, and when they know you’re invested in their success. That trust leads to:

• Earlier insight into big plans (like buying property or starting a new venture)
• More opportunities to add value
• Higher client retention, even as their financial needs evolve

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In my own firm, we front-load this work before 5th April, reducing the dreaded January bottleneck. By July or August, most returns are ready to go. No panic. No chasing. Just smooth, efficient workflows.

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Turning planning into profit

For instance, if your pricing model charges £240 per year for a personal tax return, you could layer on an additional £40/month for proactive personal tax planning. That could mean an extra £48,000 annually from your existing 100 clients—without needing to find 200 new ones.

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And it’s not just about revenue. It's about showing value. When you tell a client to take a £12,570 salary and the rest in dividends, you might save them over £9,000 – but if you don’t tell them, they don’t see the value. Tax Torch helps you demonstrate that clearly.

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Scaling with tech (and ditching spreadsheets)

One of the biggest blockers? Spreadsheets.

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I talked about the spreadsheet sprawl. Everyone saves their own version, formulas break, updates get missed. It’s messy.

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Tax Torch, on the other hand, provides a clean, structured system. It:

• Gathers client goals
• Tracks planning progress
• Visualises tax scenarios
• Calculates optimal salary/dividend splits
• Shows savings in black and white

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You can even link experts to client goals, like financial planners, internally or externally. And the AI integration helps tailor conversations based on client-specific data – not just generic advice.

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Who owns personal tax planning?

Another biggie I raised: ownership.

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Does it sit with the tax team? The accounts team? Everyone says "not me!"

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In truth, someone has to own it. Otherwise, nothing changes. And let’s face it – accountants already have the relationships. They just need the structure, support and systems to do something with it.

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The bottom line

Personal tax planning is a high-value service. When framed properly, priced confidently, and delivered with tech that makes it easy, it's a no-brainer.

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Personal tax planning could be your next big win—one that grows revenue, deepens relationships and delivers measurable results. Now is the perfect time to explore the opportunity already within your existing client base.

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So, what’s stopping you from making personal tax planning your next big win?

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