Take taxable income from a defined contribution pension and your annual allowance drops from £60,000 to £10,000, permanently. There is no way to reverse it. What triggers the MPAA, what doesn't, and why taking only your 25% tax-free cash leaves the allowance intact.

Making partner lifts your income and, in the same year, can cut your pension annual allowance to £10k. What's easy to miss is that the previous three years' allowances are still within reach, for now. Every April another £60k drops out of range. Here's what waiting actually costs, to the pound.

Earn between £100,000 and £125,140 and you lose about 60p of every extra pound, a higher rate than someone on £200,000 pays. It happens because your personal allowance is withdrawn as income rises. How the mechanic works, who it catches, and what can be done about it.

Unused annual allowance from the previous three tax years can be added to this year's, which for high earners can mean paying in well above £60,000. But the rules on eligibility catch people out, and if you were tapered in those years, the amount you carry forward is smaller than you think.

If you earn over £200,000, your £60,000 pension annual allowance may be much smaller. The taper applies only when two separate income tests are both crossed, which is the part most people get wrong. How threshold and adjusted income work, how to calculate your limit, and what to do about it.

The standard annual allowance is £60,000, but the amount you can actually pay in may be far lower. Tapering, the money purchase annual allowance and your relevant earnings can all reduce it, sometimes to £10,000. How to work out your real limit, what happens if you exceed it, and how carry forward can help.

There are two separate tax charges on an RSU, and the bigger one usually lands before you have sold anything. Income tax and National Insurance apply when the shares vest; capital gains tax only applies to growth after that. How each stage works, and why RSU income so often pushes people into the 60% band.

Sell a qualifying business and you may pay 18% capital gains tax rather than 24%, but only on the first £1m, and only if you meet conditions that catch out more sellers than you would expect. What the relief covers, and what to check before you sign.

Make the most of your pension annual allowance before 5 April. Learn how carry forward, tapering and contribution limits can improve tax efficiency.

New law firm partner? Discover a practical financial checklist covering cash flow, tax planning, protection and long-term wealth strategy.