The Disclosure Regime has been amended to include disclosure of any schemes that seek to avoid the Special Annual Allowance Charge (SAAC) introduced in Finance Act 2009. Regulations have been made and came into effect on 1 September 2009. However, a transitional rule will require disclosure of schemes where the event that triggers a disclosure, under the normal rules, occurs between 23 April and 31 August 2009 inclusive.

The Government announced its intention to restrict, to the basic rate of income tax, tax relief on pension savings with effect from 6 April 2011, for people with a taxable income of £150,000 or more. Finance Act 2009 introduced a Special Annual Allowance Charge which is an anti-forestalling provision that seeks to restrict pension tax relief for those high income individuals who increase their savings above their normal pattern of savings ahead of 6 April 2011. The addition of SAACs to the Disclosure Regime list is detailed in an updated guidance http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/aiu/guidance.htm

For complete details of the Disclosure Regime and SAAC see http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/avoidance/extension-disclosure.htm