Why should I contact an inheritance tax solicitor?
An inheritance tax solicitor can help you strategically plan what happens to your assets. By doing so, those closest to you will get the most out of your estate.
Our solicitors will look at the reliefs and exemptions available to you to ensure your estate makes the most of the available allowances. This can be especially useful for business owners or those with foreign assets.
Experienced inheritance tax planning solicitors can help you with:
- Inheritance tax planning
- Lifetime gifts
- Charity donations
- Trusts
- Non-domicile and international inheritance tax
- Appealing inheritance tax decisions with HMRC or at a Tax Tribunal
How much inheritance tax will my estate face?
If the value of an estate is worth more than £325,000, inheritance tax is charged at a standard rate of 40% on the total value above the threshold. So for an estate worth £400,000, inheritance tax is charged on 40% of £75,000. An estate may be an individual’s property, possessions or money.
A lower rate of 36% inheritance tax is sometimes applicable on certain assets if more than 10% of the estate has been left to charity.
If you believe the value of the estate to be below £325,000, inheritance tax is not applicable but you may still need to report it to HMRC.
How is inheritance tax paid?
Once the assets have been valued at the date of death, the inheritance tax is calculated. Only when the tax has been paid, the Grant of Probate extracted and liabilities paid, then each beneficiary will be given a sum of money, dependent on the amount they inherit.
Inheritance tax must be paid within 6 months of the person’s passing. If you fail to do so, HMRC will charge you interest.
To pay inheritance tax, you will need an Inheritance Tax reference number. Once you have this, you can then make the payment through online banking, telephone banking, through CHAPS, at your bank or by cheque.