Our Inheritance Tax Services are available across multiple platforms, to provide advisers with choice and investment flexibility. We currently work with the following platforms – please click on the relevant link to find more information on each one, or to login.
Frequently Asked Questions on our Platform Services
Does Inheritance Tax apply on a person’s property?
Inheritance Tax (IHT) applies to a client’s estate. The assets which form part of an estate include any property or business. Whether an individual’s property is applicable to a client’s property depends on who they leave the property to when they pass away, as well as the overall value of their estate.
The Residence Nil-Rate Band (RNRB) is an extra property allowance that allows people to leave their homes to family, free from IHT. Under the rules, if your client is passing their home to a direct descendant, they can benefit from an additional £175,000 as of the 2020-21 tax year – up from £150,000 in 2019-20.
The RNRB allowance only applies if the client leaves their home to a direct descendant – either a child or grandchild. Nieces, nephews or friends, for example, do not qualify.
Not everyone will qualify for the full allowance. If the total estate is worth more than £2 million, the extra allowance tapers off – falling by £1 for each £2 above the threshold.
What is the Inheritance Tax threshold?
Inheritance Tax (IHT) is charged on the value of everything owned by your client after their death, in excess of the Nil-Rate Band (NRB) – which is a tax-free allowance, currently set at £325,000 per individual and £650,000 for married couples and civil partners.
Legislation introduced in 2016 offered qualifying estates an additional tax-free allowance known as the Residential Nil-Rate Band (RNRB), which was phased in over four years and now provides a further £175,000 per individual – on top of the standard NRB threshold. However, there are limitations on which estates are entitled to this additional threshold, and the relief is tapered for estates valued at over £2 million.
Any value in excess of the NRB, and the RNRB if relevant, is taxed at 40% – and the nature of this tax means that their beneficiaries are left to pay the bill. Added to this, rising house prices mean that more families than ever before are falling into the inheritance tax trap – which underlines the importance of careful inheritance tax planning.
What is Business Relief (BR)?
Business Relief (BR), formerly known as Business Property Relief (BPR), was introduced in 1976 to allow a business owner to pass on their business to family members, without incurring inheritance tax. Our Inheritance Tax Services seek to operate within this robust legislation.
BR is becoming increasingly popular to more traditional inheritance tax planning strategies. In many cases, it takes seven years before the assets that your clients pass on are entirely exempt from inheritance tax, and this usually involves a transfer of those assets during their lifetime.
For more information, read our guide to Business Relief.