If you inherit a property from your spouse or civil partner, you’re an exempt beneficiary and you normally won’t owe Inheritance Tax as long as you’re domiciled in the UK.
Monthly Archives: November 2011
Valuing a deceased person’s estate
Responsibility for paying Inheritance Tax
To arrive at the amount payable when valuing a deceased person’s estate, you need to include assets (property, possessions and money) they owned at their death and certain assets they gave away during the seven years before they died. The valuation must accurately reflect what those assets would reasonably receive in the open market at the date of death.
Doubling the Inheritance Tax threshold
Transferring assets can seriously improve your wealth
Current rules mean that the survivor of a marriage or civil partnership can benefit from up to double the Inheritance Tax threshold – 650,000 in the current tax year, in addition to the entitlement to the full spouse relief.
Protecting your wealth
Passing on assets without having to pay Inheritance Tax
Inheritance Tax is the tax that is paid on your estate, chargeable at a current rate of 40 per cent. Broadly speaking, this is a tax on everything you own at the time of your death, less what you owe. It’s also sometimes payable on assets you may have given away during your lifetime. Assets include property, possessions, money and investments. One thing is certain, careful planning is required to protect your wealth from a potential Inheritance Tax liability.