HM Revenue & Customs allows you to make a number of small gifts each year without creating an Inheritance Tax liability. Remember, each person has their own allowance, so the amount can be doubled if each spouse or registered civil partner uses their allowances.
Estimating how much liability you could leave behind for your loved ones
Usually the ‘executor’ of the will or the ‘administrator’ of the estate pays Inheritance Tax using funds from the estate.
With careful planning and professional financial advice, it is possible to take preventative action to either reduce your beneficiaries’ potential Inheritance Tax bill or mitigate it out altogether.
No longer a tax that only the richest people in society have to face
As Benjamin Franklin said, the only things that are certain in life are death and taxes, and Inheritance Tax touches on both of them. When you die, the Government assesses how much your estate is worth and then deducts your debts from this to obtain the value of your estate.
Buy-to-let landlords and people buying second homes from April this year will have to pay a
3% surcharge on the stamp duty charged for the property.
The pension tax relief system is about to be reinvented. The Government announced in the Summer 2015 Budget their intention to cut pensions tax relief for high earners by introducing a tapered annual allowance from 6 April 2016 for individuals with income (including the value of any pension contributions) of over £150,000, and who have an income (excluding pension contributions) in excess of £110,000. The rate of reduction in the standard annual allowance of £40,000 is by £1 for every £2 that the adjusted income exceeds £150,000, up to a maximum reduction of £30,000.
Having a clear understanding of your protection requirements and the importance of getting the right professional financial advice as you enter the New Year are essential, and they will be of increasing significance from April when working age welfare support for mortgage interest and bereavement benefits are scheduled for reform.
To minimise the tax you pay, it’s important to be fully aware of the choices you can make before you make them, so planning ahead and taking professional financial advice is essential. With real-terms tax increases the prospect for the foreseeable future, it makes sense to utilise every available tax relief.
Setting goals for saving and investing
Have you made your New Year’s resolutions? Considering that the most common topics are health and finances, there’s a pretty good chance that at least one of them involves a financial goal.
Forget the headlines about post–pension freedoms with retirees spending their nest egg on a Lamborghini – new research shows that 2.4 million UK grandparents[1] have either withdrawn money from their pension to support their grandchildren or plan to in the future.