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What is Inheritance Tax?
Inheritance tax (IHT) is a tax that may be paid on the assets within your estate when you pass away.
Only estates above a certain threshold (currently £325,000) are subject to IHT and there are also various IHT exemptions, for example if you leave your estate to your spouse or civil partner.
No-one wants to pay more tax than they have to, so it makes sense to use any relevant reliefs and exemptions to reduce your estate’s potential IHT liability.
What are IHT reliefs?
There are a range of reliefs and planning opportunities available which can reduce the amount of tax an estate must pay. These include using various annual exemptions or gifts out of income. The residence nil rate band (RNRB) can increase the IHT threshold for a homeowner’s estate up to £500,000 if certain conditions are met.
If you are a business owner or own agricultural property, Business or Agricultural Property Relief allows some assets to be passed on free of inheritance tax or with a reduced bill.
In addition, your estate could pay Inheritance Tax at a reduced rate on some assets if you leave 10% or more of the ‘net value’ to charity in your will.
Careful planning is needed to use these and various other reliefs correctly – and the earlier you start planning, the better.
How we can help you
If you are concerned about your estate’s possible exposure to IHT, we can undertake a full review of your situation.
We can assess the total value of your estate and consider all the relevant reliefs and exemptions to establish what the IHT liability might be, factoring in likely inflation and appreciation. We can then suggest suitable planning options to help minimise your estate’s potential IHT liability.