A blog about tax planning strategies and ideas.
One big issue if you have an existing trust is the 10th anniversary tax charge. The value of the trust will be assessed and the excess over the nil rate band will be taxed at 6%. So, assuming the nil rate band was £325,000, a trust worth £400,000 will pay £4,500 IHT at each tenth […]
Can Business Relief Help Me as a Trustee? Read More »
In the village where I live, we are wedged between two huge estates, the Duke of Wellington owns most of the land to the North and Earl Calthorpe a lot to the South. Outside of the village there are two small estates owned by two wealthy non-domiciles and a private airport where tax exiles can
Inheritance Tax Loophole For The Aristocracy Read More »
Most people understand that if you make a reasonable size gift, you need to survive seven years before it falls out of your estate for inheritance tax purposes. So why do the HMRC probate forms ask about gifts made in the seven years prior to death and the seven years prior to that also? A
What is the 14-Year Inheritance Tax Trap? Read More »
The Guardian had the scoop about the rise in CGT before the October 2024 Budget and may have just scored another one here. Their source in the Treasury, either a leaker or someone deliberately testing the waters, has briefed that Rachel Reeves is looking at further increases to Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax. This is
Is There Further Inheritance Tax Pain To Come? Read More »
Business Relief funds are very popular with some advisers and clients. In fact, we use them with some clients where it is the right advice. The total market for specific Business Relief funds is £9 billion in the UK currently. If you invest in one of these funds you have the benefit of access to
Why Is Business Relief Not Right For Someone In Their 60’s? Read More »
In our role as advisers, we see a lot of previous advice that hasn’t worked. It is sometimes a little tricky to work out why the advice was given in the first place but sometimes it is obvious. We have a client who came to us from one of the biggest UK advice firms. They
Why Is A Discounted Gift Trust Not Right For Someone In Their 60s? Read More »
The first thing to say is that pension funds are due to be included in your estate for inheritance tax purposes from 6th April 2027 and so there is time to plan. Many retired clients have told us how unfair this change feels as they have been deliberately not drawing on their pension funds and
What Can I Do About My Pension Now It Pays Inheritance Tax? Read More »
From April 2026 the government is introducing a new limit of £1 million per person of Business Relief. Business Relief is valuable as it exempts business assets from inheritance tax (IHT). Anything over that amount still halves the rate of IHT from 40% to 20%. It is also fast acting as you only need to
The New Business Relief Rules: What Do I Need To Know? Read More »
In 2009, when the then chancellor Alistair Darling introduced a 50% income rate for those earning over £150,000 it broke one of our clients. In his view if the government was going to take more than half of his earnings (once you included National Insurance) then he would rather give all of his income over
Can I Reduce My Tax By Giving To Charity? Read More »
When working with clients in their 20s and 30s, one of the most important advice needs they have is for human protection (life cover, critical illness insurance and income protection). When you are that stage of life, often you have debts and higher levels of expenditure than your capital can sustain if you were to
