Since the intro­duc­tion of the trans­fer­able nil-rate band between Spous­es and reg­is­tered civ­il part­ners in Octo­ber 2007, many have for­got­ten that there are oth­er ways to save IHT.

It is esti­mat­ed that as much as 30% of all IHT col­lect­ed by HMRC could be avoid­ed quite simply.

Can you give it away?

If you have a size­able Estate and poten­tial IHT issue, make full use of the gift exemp­tions; though they are quite small, these can be useful.

  • Annu­al gift of £3,000.00
  • Small gift of £250.00
  • On mar­riage; chil­dren, £5,000.00
  • On mar­riage; grand­chil­dren or oth­er descen­dant, £2,500.00
  • Gift to any oth­er per­son of £1,000.00

Remem­ber, if you sur­vive for 7 years after the gift, then that gift will be com­plete­ly free of IHT charges. Gifts with­in 7 years are sub­ject to IHT on a slid­ing scale increas­ing to the full rate at death.

Gifts out of income

An often over­looked relief for peo­ple with size­able income, and wealth, is to estab­lish a pat­tern of giv­ing, as nor­mal expen­di­ture out of income. This can estab­lish a tax free gift pat­tern con­sid­er­ably in excess of oth­er exemp­tions, and can be used to fund var­i­ous invest­ments which can grow sig­nif­i­cant­ly in val­ue. You must be able to make the gift with­out affect­ing your stan­dard of living.

Busi­ness Assets

You should also con­sult your accoun­tant or Finan­cial Advi­sor to ensure that you will qual­i­fy for Busi­ness Prop­er­ty Relief and Agri­cul­tur­al Prop­er­ty Relief.

-ends-

Pro­vid­ed by Sean Bar­row LL.B. (Hons)

Sean Bar­row is a Solic­i­tor with more than 30 years expe­ri­ence in Wills and Pro­bate. If you wish to dis­cuss your poten­tial Estate and IHT lia­bil­i­ty, or wish to start plan­ning your lega­cy, please con­tact the Office on 01625 523988 or email mail@​JBGass.​com