Chapter 4: Inheritance Tax Flashcards
What is inheritance tax (‘IHT’)?
Inheritance tax (‘IHT’) is a tax that is primarily paid on the estate of a deceased person. It applies to the UK assets of UK resident taxpayers and the worldwide assets of UK-domiciled taxpayers.
when someone dies, you may not be aware that there are other events during a person’s lifetime which can give rise to an IHT charge. The rates of tax differ depending on the nature of the IHT trigger event.
What is inheritance tax (‘IHT’)?
The scope of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (‘IHTA’) is very broad, in order to prevent people avoiding IHT by reducing the value of their estate during their lifetime.
It is important to know what kinds of transfers could trigger IHT, the rates at which tax is payable on those transfers and what, if any, exemption or reliefs are available to reduce or eliminate any resulting tax.
Rates of tax
The rates of IHT are set annually by the budget for the tax year.
The tax year runs from 6 April one year to 5 April the following year. For the current tax year, the following rates of IHT apply:
Nil rate band
0%
Lifetime rate
20%
Death rate
40%
You will be required to apply tax rates in this topic. You will find it helpful to have a calculator to hand as you work through the topic.
IHT trigger events
There are three kinds of IHT trigger event that you need to be aware of when advising a client in relation to wills and estates:
Potentially exempt transfers (‘PET’) – Lifetime transfers of value which could become chargeable to IHT depending on whether the transferor survives for seven years after the transfer. Only failed PETs (i.e. those where the transferor does not survive for seven years) are chargeable.
IHT trigger events
Lifetime Chargeable Transfers (‘LCT’) – Lifetime transfers of value which are immediately chargeable to IHT at the lifetime rate.These are also reassessed if the transferor dies within seven years.
Death – When a person dies there is a deemed transfer of all the assets that they own (s 4 IHTA). IHT is chargeable on this transfer of value.
Transfers of value
IHT is payable on the value transferred by a ‘chargeable transfer’ (s 1 IHTA).
- A chargeable transfer is a ‘transfer of value’ made by an individual which is not an “exempt transfer” (s 2(1) IHTA).
- A “transfer of value” is a ‘disposition’ which results in an immediate decrease in the value of the individual’s estate (s 3(1) IHTA).
Transfers of value
Broadly, this means gifts but it can also include transactions at an undervalue (e.g. selling your house to a family member for less than it is worth – The difference in value counts as a gift). It applies to gifts of all forms of property (i.e. anything with a monetary value).
The ‘value’ of a transfer of value depends on the trigger event.
- For lifetime transfers, it is assessed by reference to the loss in value to the donor.
- For the death estate, the value is calculated by reference to the market value of items in the estate on the date of death (s 160 IHTA).
Nil rate bands
Individuals have a basic nil rate band of £325,000 (‘NRB’). This means they can make £325,000 of chargeable transfers at a rate of 0% (i.e. no tax is due).
An individual’s surviving spouse or civil partner can inherit the unused proportion of their basic NRB. This is known as the ‘transferable nil rate band’ (‘TNRB’).
Nil rate bands
There is an additional nil rate band (currently £175,000) for individuals who die on or after 6 April 2017 if they leave their family home to direct descendants. This is known as the ‘residence nil rate band’ (‘RNRB’)
An individual’s surviving spouse or civil partner can inherit the unused portion of their RNRB similarly to with the basic NRB.
Potentially Exempt Transfer (‘PET’)
A PET is a lifetime transfer of value to another individual. If the individual doesn’t survive for 7 years after making the transfer, it becomes chargeable alongside their death estate. The rationale behind PETs is to prevent individuals avoiding IHT by giving away property shortly before their death.
Gifts to companies and gifts made by closed companies have different rules which are beyond the scope of this module.
The tax treatment of a PET is as follows:
- The transfer is not chargeable at the point it is made. No IHT is payable yet.
- It becomes fully exempt if the transferor survives seven years from the date of the PET.
- If the transferor dies within seven years of making the PET, the PET ‘fails’ and becomes a chargeable transfer and thus subject to IHT.
Lifetime Chargeable Transfer (‘LCT’)
All lifetime transfers of value made by a person into a trust on or after 22 March 2006 will give rise to an LCT. The tax treatment is as follows:
- An LCT is a chargeable transfer when it is made. IHT is payable on the chargeable value of the LCT at the lifetime rate of 20%.
- If the transferor survives 7 years following the LCT there is no further charge to tax.
- If the transferor dies within 7 years, the LCT will be reassessed to tax at the death rate of 40%, using the NRB at the date of death.
- Practice Alert: There are different rules for trusts set up for disabled people provided that statutory requirements are met. These rules are outside the scope of this module.
Death
When a person dies there is a deemed transfer of all the assets that they own at the date of their death (s 4 IHTA).
It is this deemed transfer that gives rise to the IHT charge on death.
Property in the taxable estate is valued at the price it might reasonably be expected to fetch if sold on the open market immediately before the death (s 160 IHTA).
Death
It is important to note that the taxable death estate is not the same as the succession estate so a separate calculation of the value of the estate for IHT purposes will be needed.
IHT is payable on a person’s death estate at the death rate of 40% of the value of the estate above the available NRB.
In addition to the IHT for the death estate, any PETs or LCTs made in the 7 years before death must be re-assessed to IHT as well.
Comparing lifetime and death
An LCT with a chargeable value of £500,000 would be taxed when it was made at the lifetime rate as follows:£0 to £325,000 (nil rate band):
£325,000 x 0% = 0
£325,000 to £500,000
(lifetime rate):
£175,000 x 20% = £35,000
A death estate with a chargeable value of £500,000 would be taxed when it was made at the death rate as follows:
0 to £325,000
(nil rate band):
£325,000 x 0% = 0
£325,000 to £500,000
(death rate):
£175,000 x 40% = £70,000
Cumulation
Cumulation is used to prevent individuals reducing their IHT liability by making a series of separate dispositions.
Instead of viewing each IHT chargeable transfer (i.e. failed PET, LCT, death) in isolation, H M Revenue & Customs (HMRC) consider any other IHT transfers made in the 7 years prior to the current transfer being taxed.
The effect of the cumulative total is to reduce the NRB available for the current transfer. It is therefore necessary to calculate what is known as the ‘cumulative total’ before deducting this from the NRB available for a particular transfer.
Cumulative total = Total chargeable value of all the chargeable transfers made in the previous 7 years.
Cumulation example
A man died last month having made two lifetime gifts within the last seven years
Last year he gifted cash with a chargeable value of £50,000 (a PET)
Two years ago he gifted shares with a chargeable value of £100,000 (a PET)
His cumulative total on death is £150,000
His NRB is reduced accordingly (£325,000 - £150,000)
The NRB available on death is £175,000
Please note that this is a simplified example which doesn’t consider the availability of exemptions or reliefs.
Exemptions and reliefs
There are a number of different exemptions and reliefs which can be used to reduce or eliminate IHT. Exemptions and reliefs work in slightly different ways:
- Gifts to certain individuals or other entitles are exempt from IHT. This means that they can be made completely free from IHT and do not use up the NRB.
- Gifts of particular assets benefit from reliefs. This means that, where the conditions of the relief are met, the amount of IHT payable is reduced (sometimes by 100%).
Some exemptions and reliefs only apply to PETs and LCTs. Others apply only to the death estate. Some apply to both.
Calculating IHT
To calculate the amount of IHT which must be paid in relation to a particular transfer you will be expected to apply the relevant formula.
There is a formula to follow in relation to the following lifetime transfers: * Failed PET * LCT (when made) * LCT (when reassessed following transferor’s death) A different formula applies for the taxation of the death estate.
The formulas are set out on the following pages for completeness and are repeated later in the module when required for a calculation.
Calculating IHT on lifetime transfers
In order to calculate the IHT due on a failed PET or LCT the following formula should be used:
Step A
Identify value transferred
Step B
Apply exemptions & reliefs
Step C
Identify chargeable value
Step D
Calculate and apply NRB
Step E
Apply rates of tax
Calculating IHT on death estate
In order to calculate the IHT due when someone dies it is necessary to follow this 7 step process:
In order to calculate the IHT due when someone dies it is necessary to follow this 7 step process:
Step 1
Calculate cumulative total
Step 2
Identify assets included in the taxable estate
Step 3
Value the taxable estate
Step 4
Deduct debts/expenses
Step 5
Apply exemptions & reliefs
Step 6
Apply RNRB
Step 7
Apply basic NRB and calculate tax
Key terminology used in topic
You may find it helpful to familiarise yourself with the following terminology:
- ‘HMRC’ is short for ‘His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs’, the UK tax authority.
- ‘IHT’ is used as shorthand for ‘inheritance tax’.
- ‘LCT’ is used as shorthand for ‘lifetime chargeable transfer’
- ‘NRB’ is used as shorthand for ‘nil rate band’.
Key terminology used in topic
- ‘PET’ is used shorthand for ‘potentially exempt transfer’ and ‘failed PET’ refers to a situation where an individual does not survive for seven years after making a PET.
- References to a ‘spouse’ or ‘marriage’ should be taken to include ‘civil partner’ or ‘civil partnership’ (unless the context requires otherwise).
- ‘Taxable estate’ and ‘death estate’ may be used interchangeably.
- ‘Transferor’ / ‘transferee’ may be used interchangeably with ‘donor’ / ‘donee’.