Mark Goodson, joint Head of BTMK’s Private Client department and member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), often refers to the famous quote “…in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except Death and Taxes.” Not all taxes however – the payment of Inheritance tax (IHT) is a lot less certain and can be practically voluntary.
There are many ways of mitigating and avoiding IHT completely and a lot of these depend on you living seven years, which we don’t always have control over.
But there are exemptions that can be applied to gifts that you make and even assets that you hold. It is therefore important to ensure that you know about them; this is where we come in.
Getting the right advice first is crucial so that any decisions you make in relation to your estate and tax planning are made with an informed choice. It is also something that should be reviewed annually as effective estate planning is very often not a one-off exercise, but something that evolves over a period of years.
Even when dealing with someone’s estate, you need to know what exemptions can be claimed in order to ensure that any IHT is calculated properly.
Not only are we able to advise our clients on any gifts and exempt transfers during their lifetimes, we recently were able to recover from HM Revenue and Customs a significant six figure sum of overpaid IHT on behalf of one of our clients, simply because we were aware of the correct allowances and exemptions that could be applied and how to effectively utilise a Deed of Variation; a perfectly legitimate way of rearranging someone’s estate within two years of their death (which, on many occasions, will lead to a refund of IHT).
To learn about all of the lifetime allowances and also the exemptions that can be applied after someone has died, contact Mark or the experienced Private Client team in Leigh on Sea during office hours on 01702 221920, or contact BTMK 24/7 on 03300 585 222.