If you are a high net worth individual, owning property and assets that you’d naturally expect to pass down to your children and family members, Inheritance Tax Planning today will help avoid some possible nasty surprises and disappointment later
Inheritance Tax is usually paid on an estate when somebody dies. It’s also usually payable on trusts or gifts made during someone’s lifetime. Most estates don’t need to pay Inheritance Tax because they’re valued at less than the threshold (£325,000 in 2014-15). However, tax is payable at 40 per cent on any amount over this threshold or 36 per cent if the estate qualifies for a reduced rate as a result of a charitable donation.
With house prices rising all the time, more and more people are being pushed over into the inheritance tax bracket meaning that any amount over the threshold will be taxed at 40 per cent.
There are options to reduce the inheritance tax rate to 36 per cent and this can be achieved by making a donation to a recognised charity of 10 per cent of the estate. This can also be implemented after someone dies by arranging an ‘Instrument of Variation’ to either increase the amount donated or to make a donation which will reduce the inheritance tax bill.
Berley’s inheritance tax planning service
There are options open to you to mitigate the inheritance burden throughout your lifetime, such as:
- Making a tax-efficient Will, such as including the 10 per cent donation
- Make lifetime gifts and survive for seven years after the gift
- Create a lifetime trust
- Put in place a post-death deed of family arrangement
- Make full use of Business Property Relief and Agriculture Property Relief by restructuring assets
- Restructure any borrowing, ensuring this is not secured on assets with generous inheritance tax relief
Our most popular work with clients is the valuation of your inheritance tax exposure based on your current assets and your Will and in addition we can calculate your exposure if you were to die without a Will. Without a Will, the law will decide how your estate is split up and follow the strict rules of intestacy.
This exercise will help you to be clear about the level of inheritance tax your estate will be exposed to and we can then start to effectively plan ways to reduce this tax burden and mitigate your estate as far as possible, which may include rewriting your Will and restructuring your assets.
Why choose Berley’s inheritance tax service?
Using our experience in inheritance tax planning, we can help you to structure your estate in the most tax efficient way possible and all of these efficiencies are in no way tax avoidance schemes, as everything is within the law.
You can ensure that your family can effectively mitigate the levels of inheritance tax payable on your estate once you die, which is another very valuable gift to give them.
Contact us now
No one likes talking about what happens when they die, but planning to mitigate your inheritance tax liabilities is a must so call us now on 020 7636 9094, email us on info@berley.co.uk or complete our Free Online Enquiry and one of our inheritance tax planning specialists will be in touch shortly.
