Inheritance Tax

Are you liable to Inheritance Tax?

Everything you own at death, minus what you owe, is known as your 'Estate'. Inheritance Tax is the tax that will be levied on your 'estate', unless it's protected by an alternative provision.

So it pays to be aware of your Inheritance Tax position. You can take sensible and straight-forward steps to ensure that your estate is protected as much as possible, within current guidelines.

Further Information

Currently, the first £312,000 of an individual's net estate is not liable for Inheritance Tax duty. For married couples and registered civil partners this is doubled to £624,000, if the full allowance is passed to the surviving spouse. Anything in excess of this amount is taxed at 40% on death.

In Real Terms

The charts below show two striking examples.

• how easily the HM Revenue & Customs can become the single largest beneficiary of your estate
• the larger your estate, the higher the % lost.

Robert Bruce Associates can help mitigate your Inheritance Tax, and advise positive courses of action such as:

• Ensure your Will is written and planned correctly to reduce/remove your potential tax liability. Wills should be reviewed on a regular basis.
• Transfer assets through the prudent use of lifetime gifts.
• Consider placing debt into your estate via lifetime mortgages.
• Create a tax-efficient method to enable the beneficiaries of an estate to meet the tax liability without disturbing the family wealth.

Pensions & IHT

Under current legislation, pensions can play a large role in estate planning. Two issues are listed below:

• Death benefits under modern pension plans are broadly exempt from IHT.
• Adequate retirement income with spouse or civil partner and dependant's pensions, may release capital for lifetime giving.

Although pension death benefits are broadly exempt from IHT, if they are passed to your survivor they will form part of their estate. Robert Bruce Associates can offer solutions that allow your survivor access to your death benefits - without forming part of their estate.

Get the full story

Robert Bruce Associates can offer you specialist, helpful and clear advice on Inheritance Tax, to help you make an informed choice. Our qualified advisors will ensure any decision is made only once you have all the facts in hand, and only as a result of establishing your personal wishes and criteria.

Why not call us today?

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