Services
Inheritance Tax Planning
Inheritance tax is charged at 40% on everything above your allowances. Knowing where you stand is the first step to doing something about it.
Rising property values have pulled a great many ordinary families into inheritance tax — people who would never describe themselves as wealthy, but whose home, pension and savings add up to more than the allowances permit.
The starting point is always the same: an honest calculation of what your estate is actually worth and what would be payable today. Many people are relieved by that number. Others are surprised by it. Either way, you cannot plan around a figure you have never worked out.
Where there is an exposure, there are legitimate ways to reduce it — using allowances properly, structured lifetime gifting, life policies written in trust to meet the bill, charitable giving, and making sure the residence nil-rate band is not lost through the way your Will is drafted. We will never recommend a scheme that depends on HMRC not looking closely.
What this covers
- A full estate valuation
- What you own, what you owe, and the resulting position.
- Allowance review
- Nil-rate band, residence nil-rate band, and transferable allowances from a late spouse.
- Lifetime gifting strategy
- Annual exemptions, gifts from surplus income, and the seven-year rule.
- Trust and policy structuring
- Holding assets and life cover outside your estate where appropriate.
- Business and agricultural relief
- Checking whether reliefs apply and that they are not inadvertently lost.
- Coordination with your other advisers
- Working alongside your accountant or IFA rather than around them.
Common questions
IHT Planning, answered plainly
- What are the current allowances?
- Each person has a nil-rate band, and an additional residence nil-rate band may apply where a home passes to direct descendants. Unused allowances can generally be transferred to a surviving spouse or civil partner. Thresholds and tapering rules change, so we work from the position at the date of your review rather than from a figure in a brochure.
- Is giving money away the answer?
- Sometimes, but rarely on its own. Most lifetime gifts only fall outside your estate if you survive seven years, and gifts made while continuing to benefit from the asset — carrying on living in the house you have given away, for example — are caught by the reservation of benefit rules.
- Do I need an accountant as well?
- Often, yes, particularly if you own a business or have complex investments. We are happy to work alongside your existing advisers, and we would rather bring the right person in than pretend an issue is outside the scope of the review.
Related
Often planned alongside
Wills
Ensure your wishes are clearly documented and the people you love are properly considered.
Trust Planning
Trust structures designed to protect assets and provide for future generations.
Lasting Powers of Attorney
Put trusted people in place to make important decisions if you are unable to make them yourself.
Start the conversation
Planning for tomorrow starts today.
You don’t need to have all the answers. That’s what we’re here for. Let’s start with a conversation about your family, your assets and what matters most to you.