Inheritance Tax

Calculate your Inheritance Tax bill/Use your exemptions/

Minimise your liability

Inheritance tax (IHT) is a tax that is paid to the Inland Revenue generally on death (although it can be due in your lifetime) normally where the value of an estate exceeds the ‘Nil Rate Band’. The Nil Rate Band is currently £325,000.00 and has not changed for the last few years. The government recently announced that the Nil Rate Band will be fixed until 2015.

Under current legislation, a surviving spouses’ estate may be able to claim the Nil Rate Band of the first spouse to die, on the death of the second spouse, as well as the second spouses’ own Nil Rate Band. This is called the “transferable nil rate band” procedure. This potentially gives many estates a tax free allowance of £650,000, although this figure may be reduced if either spouse has made lifetime gifts in the seven years before their respective deaths.

Even with the increased allowance afforded by the transferable nil rate band many couples find, due to the value of their homes, that their estates will still attract an Inheritance Tax bill after they die.

You can in your lifetime mitigate your exposure to Inheritance Tax on death, by giving assets away. This of course must be subject to you being able to afford to do so.   There are certain conditions and rules to meet regarding gifts and there are also some special reliefs available to certain qualifying assets. For a list of current IHT exemptions which you can take advantage of please use the link opposite.

We can advise you whether you have an exposure to Inheritance Tax based on the value of your estate (calculated on the information you give to us), calculate your potential liability and advise you about the  exemptions for Inheritance tax which may apply to you. We can also discuss with you whether you would benefit from re arranging any of your assets, or if you qualify to pay Inheritance Tax at a reduced rate based on the terms of your Will.

We generally charge an hourly rate of £150 plus VAT for IHT advice although some of our asset and wealth preservation packages include this advice as part of the fee.