Nil rate band

Under current rules, any part of the estate that falls within the available nil rate band (NRB), currently £325,000 until at least 5 April 2021, is taxed at zero. Anything in excess of this amount is taxed at 40%. On death any part of the estate that passes to the surviving spouse* is an exempt transfer and will not use the NRB. Also, since the 9 October 2007 any unused NRB can be transferred to a surviving spouse. For example, if a husband dies and leaves his estate to his widow, she can take his unused NRB and add it to her own. This means that when she dies, her estate will only incur IHT if it’s worth more than £650,000 currently. [* Note: Within the article spouse also means civil partner.]

The unused NRB available to transfer to a spouse is expressed as a percentage rather than a monetary amount and so increases with any future increases to the NRB. Therefore if an individual does not use any of their NRB, their spouse can claim 100%. If the NRB on the death of the spouse has risen to, say, £350,000 then the executors of the spouse’s estate can claim 100% of NRB of £350,000.

Also, from the 6 April 2017 each person will get a residential nil rate band (RNRB) to use against the value of their home if it is left to direct descendants. Initially, it will be set at £100,000, increasing by £25,000 each year until it reaches £175,000 in April 2020 and like the standard NRB, any unused RNRB can also transfer to a surviving spouse. Remember if the first spouse died before 6 April 2017 100% of the RNRB will be available to be transferred when the surviving spouse subsequently dies. However the RNRB is tapered where estates are valued at over £2m, reducing by £1 for every £2 over this amount.

Spouse Exemption

On death all transfers to UK domiciled spouses are exempt from IHT.There are special rules that affect non-domiciled spouses which will be discussed in a later article but for now remember that if an estate is passing to a nondomiciled spouse it might not all be exempt.

Charity donations

All gifts to registered charities are exempt and if death occurs after 5 April 2012 provided at least 10% of the net estate is left to a registered charity the IHT rate is reduced to 36%. But remember on death, an estate is divided into different components and at least 10% of each component must be left to the registered charity.

Political Parties

All gifts to Political Parties that have at least one Member of Parliament are exempt.

Maintenance of family

Any gift for the maintenance of a child (including step and adopted) who is either under 18, over 18 and in full-time education or training or dependent upon the deceased because he is physically or mentally disabled, will be exempt from IHT. The gift must be reasonable for the child’s needs. A gift to any other “dependent relative” is also not a transfer of value to the extent that it is a reasonable provision for the relative’s care or maintenance.

Armed Forces

If a serving, or former, member of the Armed Forces dies from, (or death can be shown to have been hastened by), an injury sustained or disease contracted whilst on active service against the enemy or other service of a warlike nature (such as operations against hostile forces in peace time or anti-terrorist operations), a complete exemption from IHT can be granted on their estate. This little-known exemption could be very useful. It was used by the executors of the fourth Duke of Westminster in 1967. His family, one of the wealthiest in Britain, successfully claimed his death from cancer had been ‘hastened’ by a stomach wound he suffered fighting in France in 1944 and paid no inheritance tax at all.

Inheritance Tax Reliefs

The term ‘relief’ applies to cases where there has been a chargeable transfer of value, but tax was not charged on the full value transferred.

Agricultural Property Relief

Agricultural property relief (APR) can be hugely valuable, if the deceased owned and occupied property that was used for agricultural purposes for 2 years before their death. Agricultural property is land or pasture that is used to grow crops or to rear animals intensively. It can also include farm buildings, farm cottages and farmhouses as well as stud farms for breeding and rearing horses and grazing. But it doesn’t include harvested crops or farm equipment and machinery.

Business Property Relief

Business Property Relief (BPR) provides relief from IHT on the transfer of relevant business assets at a rate of 50% or 100%. The deceased must have owned the business or asset for at least 2 years before they died. A business or interest in a business and shares in an unlisted company will get 100% BPR. Whereas the estate will only be entitled to 50% BPR on: shares controlling more than 50% of the voting rights in a listed company, land, buildings or machinery owned by the deceased and used in a business they were a partner in or controlled or land, buildings or machinery used in the business and held in a trust that it has the right to benefit from.

Taper relief

Taper relief offers a gradual reduction in the amount of IHT due on gifts (potential and chargeable) made within 7 years of death. A common misunderstanding is that taper relief achieves its tax saving by reducing the transfer of value. This is not the case – the value of the gift never changes, only the tax due. Gifts made 3 to 7 years before death are taxed on a sliding scale as follows:

Years between gift and death		Tax paid
less than 3		40%
3 to 4		32%
4 to 5		24%
5 to 6		16%
6 to 7		8%
7 or more		0%