And if you make what are called additional voluntary contributions normally you will also benefit from a subsidy from

And if you make what are called additional voluntary contributions, normally you will also benefit from a subsidy from your employer.Company car drivers can reduce their tax charge by one-third in any year if you do 2,500 business miles, and two-thirds if you do 18,000 miles Driving into work is not considered business. But if you can do sufficient client visits, for example, the tax-saving can easily work out at pounds 500 or more You should keep a record of these journeys, say accountants. One, we could have a Labour government within the next year, which could threaten some tax allowances. Second is that the stock market is close to an all-time high and could be set for a fall, meaning PEP investors, for example, might want to tread carefully.Here then are some key tax-saving tips:There is a lot of waffle spouted about topping up pension arrangements before the end-of-the-tax-year. The reality is that few people contribute anywhere near the limits on which you get tax relief, and unused reliefs can in many cases effectively be carried forward.One important exception, however, is people in pension schemes run by their employer They cannot carry forward tax-relief. You could cancel and then buy another PEP at the new lower price before the tax year ends. Buy from Schroders after Friday - in the last week of the tax year - and you will not benefit from this cooling-off period.For tax-savers, this year there are two special factors to consider.

Schroders offers a seven-day cooling-off period which allows you to get your original money back if you change your mind Say you bought on Friday and then the stock market crashed. For example, this Friday (29 March) is the last day to buy a Schroder PEP (Schroders being a leading brand) and still benefit from an escape clause which offers short-term protection against a stock market crash. April 5, while it is the end of the tax year, is also Good Friday - a bank holiday. So, for example, 4 April is the last day to sell shares if you are looking to mop up this year's capital gains tax allowance.It is also stupid for company car drivers to leave until the last moment the discovery they are 500 miles short of the 2,500 or 18,000 mileage thresholds which cut the tax charge on your car And some PEP firms also have early deadlines. "But for wealthier people it's a real deadline."Most tax-saving is in fact about good financial housekeeping which people - wealthy or otherwise - should be doing throughout the year.There is no time for further delay, however. But the idea that we can save heaps of tax by spurring ourselves into action before the end of the financial year on 5 April is really a bit of myth invented by the financial services industry to sell its wares. "The man in the street should not get too worried," says David Norman, senior manager at KPMG personal financial services.

FINANCIAL advisers would have us believe that we are paying more than pounds 5bn a year in unnecessary and legally avoidable tax - equivalent to 3p in the pound off the basic rate of income tax for everybody, or pounds 180 each for many of us. Lenders may only do so once a year, in which case you may be better off putting the money into a savings account where it can earn interest until the year-end.With savings rates so low it is sensible to use any "spare" money to make a lump sum capital repayment on your mortgage. Find out the minimum amount your lender accepts.Whichever the case, the sooner you take positive steps, the quicker you will free yourself from the negative equity "trap".Where to get themLender Contact Maximum loan Interest rate on negative How long to pay off Who can apply equity element of loan negative equityBank of Scotland Financial 120% SVR* + 1.5% Full length of mortgage AnyoneCentrebank adviserCheltenham & 0800 272131 125% SVR* Up to 20 years AnyoneGloucesterMortgage Express 0500 111130 130% Base rate + 1.9% - 2.5% Full length of mortgage AnyoneBarclays Mortgages Local branch 125% SVR* Up to 10 years Barclays current account holders and existing *SVR - standard variable mortgage rate borrowers. But find out how long it takes your lender to credit the extra payments to your mortgage account. For example, by paying an extra pounds 100 a month on your outstanding capital you could cover pounds 5,000 negative equity in around four years.If you have had a mortgage for a few years your monthly repayments should have dropped, while your salary may have risen. Sitting tight and waiting for property prices to rise is an alternative strategy in the long term.