Q What is the Inheritance Tax threshold?
A If your estate (including assets held in trust and any gifts you have made within seven years of your death) is less than the threshold, no inheritance tax will be due on it.
Q What is the threshold at the moment?
A Please consult the Inland Revenue to find out what the current inheritance threshold is.
Q Is every gift within 7 years of a person’s death to be included in the calculation of the estate?
A Some gifts are exempt. When calculating the value of an estate, the following are exempt from inclusion:
Wedding gifts of up to £5,000 to each of child of the decease (including step-children and adopted children) or the person that child is marrying
Wedding gifts up to £2,500 to each grandchild or the person that the grandchild is marrying
Wedding gifts of up to £1,000 to anyone else
Payments for the maintenance of spouse of the deceased, or ex-husband or ex-wife, dependent relatives and, usually, children who are under 18 or in full-time education
Other gifts up to a value of £3,000 in any one tax year, plus any unused balance of £3,000 from the previous tax year (The tax year starts on 6 April in one year and ends on 5 April in the following year.)
Outright gifts in any tax year up to a total of £250 each to any number of people, but only if the total of all gifts made to the recipient in the same tax year does not exceed £250
Gifts can be made from more then one of the above heading and still be excluded from the calculation. For example, to a child in the year they marry, you could give £5,000 as a wedding gift plus £3,000 as another gift, and these would be exempt.
Q What is a potentially exempt transfer?
A An outright gift to an individual is a potentially exempt transfer. Seven years after the date of the gift, the gift becomes an exempt transfer.
Q What is an ‘outright gift’?
A An outright gift is one in which no benefit is retained. In other words, full ownership of the gift is given away so that it is no longer part of the estate.
Q What is a ‘gift with reservation of benefit’?
A A gift with reservation of benefit is one that is not fully given away so that either
The person getting the gift does so with conditions or restrictions attached, or
The person making the gift keeps back some benefit for themselves
Where this happens to gifts made on or after 18 March 1986 , we can include the assets as part of the estate but there is no seven year limit as there is for outright gifts.
A gift may begin as a gift with reservation but some time later the reservation may cease.
Q Are gifts to a spouse to be included?
A Anything that given during the lifetime or upon the death to a spouse is completely free of inheritance tax, but both of you must be domiciled in the UK.
Q Is inheritance tax payable on gifts or bequests to charity?
A No. All outright gifts and bequests to UK registered charities are completely free of inheritance tax.
Q Who is responsible for telling the Inland Revenue about gifts?
A If you have:
Made a gift to a company or to a discretionary trust so that an immediate charge to inheritance tax arises, you should tell the Inland Revenue about it within one year of making the gift
Received an outright gift from someone and they have died within seven years of making the gift, you should tell us about it within one year of death
Received a gift with reservation of benefit from someone and they die after making the gift, you should tell us about it within one year of death
Although it is not necessary to inform the Inland Revenue about potentially exempt gifts or gifts with reservation of benefit at the time they are made, all gifts that are chargeable to inheritance tax because of the donor’s death must be reported to them after the donor has died.
Legal personal representatives will be responsible for deciding whether they need to deliver an Inland Revenue Account for an estate on death. If an Account is needed, they must provide full details of all gifts made within the seven years of the date of death. Legal personal representatives to deliver a full and proper Account by record kept of all gifts made.
Q If my estate is more than the threshold, how is inheritance tax worked out?
A If the value of an estate is above the threshold, then inheritance tax is payable. However, the following are exempt from inheritance tax
Anything you leave to your husband or wife
Anything you leave to a UK registered charity
Any bills outstanding at your death, including your funeral expenses
Q Who is the settlor?
A For inheritance tax purposes, a settlor is the person who makes a settlement
directly or indirectly provides the assets for a settlement
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