The Autumn 2024 Budget brought inheritance tax (IHT) into the spotlight, but many still don’t fully understand its impact. Let’s break it down with an example:
Mark and Hannah have an estate worth £1.25 million, including a jointly owned home worth £400,000. Their wills leave everything to the surviving spouse, then to their children. Under current rules, what percentage of their estate would be lost to IHT after the second death?
- 8%
- 20%
- 24%
- 40%
The correct answer is 8%, which may surprise you. While the headline rate of IHT is 40%, Mark and Hannah would each benefit from:
- A nil rate band of £325,000, plus
- A residence nil rate band of £175,000.
Both nil rate bands are fully transferable to the estate of the surviving spouse, to the extent that they remain unused on first death. Thus, Mark and Hannah’s estate would have £1,000,000 of nil rate bands available at second death, leaving £250,000 to be taxed at 40%.
The theoretical £1,000,000 of nil rate band has been in existence since April 2020 and is set to remain unchanged until April 2030, following the Autumn 2024 Budget’s two-year extension to an existing threshold freeze. The freeze, which has been in existence for the main nil rate band since April 2009, will continue the process of dragging more estates into IHT as inflation sees the value of property and other assets increase.
The structure of IHT favours married couples and civil partners with children. In the above example, if Mark had never married and died leaving the same £1.25 million estate to his nieces and nephews, the IHT would be nearly 30% of his estate. He would only have one nil rate band and no residence nil rate band, which generally only applies to residential property gifted to children, grandchildren and other specific categories of direct descendants.
At the time of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimated that by 2029/30 nearly one-in-ten estates will be liable to IHT, up from a little over 5% in 2023/24. If you are concerned that your family might join the growing membership of the IHT club, start planning now. More than almost any other tax, time is a crucial element in any IHT mitigation strategy.
Tax treatment varies according to individual circumstances and is subject to change.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax advice or wills.
To discuss your financial planning, contact our Sheffield based Financial Advisers on 01142 664 432 or info@smh.group
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