Inheritance Tax

Don't give away your property to the taxman; forward planning is essential if you want to reduce or completely avoid any IHT liability.

You may be at a stage in life where the future of you family and making sure that they are well provided for when you are gone is a priority. Inheritance is a factor you will need to consider because it can impose significant costs on your estate and eat into the assets that would be passed on to your relatives.

You should look at the options open to you to minimise or remove the impact of IHT. We can assist you by making sure that, with careful planning and full use of IHT exemptions you should be able to reduce your liability.

IHT is levied on estates with a worth of over £325,000 for an individual or £650,000 for a married couple so you may not need to worry about tax mitigation if your combined assets (including property) are worth less than this. As house values increase more and more people are becoming liable to pay IHT so it's worth keeping a close eye on house values to see if you are potentially liable to the tax. Any worth in excess of the IHT exemption limit is currently taxed at 40% so careful planning is essential.

Inheritance tax is usually mitigated by making use of gift exemptions, the spousal exemption and by utilising certain types of trust and life assurance. Equally important is the presence of a Will. Married couples should have separate ones as each person has their own IHT allowance.

Taxes referred to are those currently applying and are liable to change.