Misunderstandings over complex inheritance tax rules are landing innocent families in investigations with the tax authority and will fuel further demands for a radical overhaul of the death duty system, experts have said. HM Revenue & Customs took in £274m from 5,638 IHT investigations in 2019-20, figures obtained via a […]
Inheritance
the best trusts to cut inheritance tax
Suppose you want to make a gift for the benefit of your children but still need income or other use of the assets. HMRC will usually attack such arrangements under the “retention of benefit” rules. In particular, you should not give your home to your children if you intend to […]
Pensions just became an even better way to avoid inheritance tax
Aside from the ridiculous quirk described above, pensions are indeed free of death duties. And that is why any financial adviser or accountant worth their salt will tell you to touch your pension last of all. Unlike cash and Isas, a defined contribution pension or Sipp does not count as part […]
Victory for pensioners as judges say inheritance tax doesn’t apply to gifts made in ill health
Judges have said controversial inheritance tax charges on pension pots transferred when the owner is terminally ill should not stand. In a landmark case, the Supreme Court ruled against HM Revenue & Customs, which argued that pensions transferred to someone else within two years of death can be caught by the death duty if the […]
Number of people paying inheritance tax falls for first time since 2009
It is the first time official figures have been published since the “residence nil rate band”, or “family home allowance”, was introduced in 2017. The relief extends extra protections to families passing on their main residence to children or grandchildren, although it starts to taper away once an estate exceeds £2m in […]