48 articles tagged with Estate Planning.
Gifts to UK charities are fully exempt from inheritance tax. Leave 10% or more of your net estate to charity and the IHT rate drops from 40% to 36%. How it works in 2026.
The nil-rate band is frozen at GBP 325,000 until 2030 while house prices rise. Here is how to use the NRB, RNRB, transferable allowances, and gifting rules to legally cut your inheritance tax bill.
How a deed of variation lets beneficiaries redirect an inheritance within two years of death for Inheritance Tax purposes in 2026/27, and the conditions that must be met for it to work.
From April 2027, most unused pension funds will be brought within the scope of Inheritance Tax on death. What's changing, who's affected, and what to consider before then.
Parents can gift £5,000, grandparents £2,500 and anyone else £1,000 to a couple getting married completely free of Inheritance Tax — on top of the normal annual exemption. Here's exactly how the wedding gift exemption works and how to combine it with other allowances.
How Business Relief on AIM-listed shares can reduce Inheritance Tax after just two years of ownership in 2026 — qualifying conditions, the risks, and how AIM investing compares to gifting.
The difference between a bare trust and a discretionary trust for passing money to children in 2026/27 — control, tax treatment, and the age-18 access problem, compared side by side.
How Business Property Relief can shelter AIM-listed shares from Inheritance Tax in 2026/27 — the two-year holding rule, the risks, and how the new cap on 100% relief affects large portfolios.
Why unmarried cohabiting couples in the UK get no spousal Inheritance Tax exemption in 2026/27, how this affects the family home, and the planning steps that can reduce the risk.
How the normal gifts out of surplus income Inheritance Tax exemption works in 2026/27 — the three legal tests, a worked example, and the records HMRC expects executors to produce.
How to apply for a grant of probate in England and Wales in 2026/27 — the application fee, when probate is actually needed, typical timescales, and what executors must do first.
Why an expression of wishes form for your pension is not legally binding but still crucial in 2026/27, how scheme trustees use it, and why it needs updating after major life events.
How potentially exempt transfers and the 7-year Inheritance Tax rule work in 2026/27 — taper relief, worked examples, and why gifts made shortly before death can still create a tax bill.
How the residence nil rate band downsizing addition protects Inheritance Tax relief when someone sells or downsizes their home before death — the rules, worked example and claim process for 2026/27.
How a spousal bypass trust can keep pension death benefits outside a surviving spouse's own estate in 2026/27, why it is used, and how the incoming pension IHT changes affect the strategy.
A precise worked example of how Inheritance Tax taper relief reduces tax on a lifetime gift made 3 to 7 years before death in 2026/27, and why it rarely helps as much as people expect.
Comparing term assurance and whole-of-life insurance as ways to cover a future Inheritance Tax bill in 2026/27, including cost, certainty of payout, and which suits which estate.
Writing a life insurance policy in trust keeps the payout outside your estate for Inheritance Tax and speeds up payment to your family. Discretionary vs bare trust, setup mistakes, and worked examples.
How writing a whole-of-life insurance policy in trust removes the payout from your estate, why it matters for Inheritance Tax in 2026/27, and how the numbers stack up.
A plain-English guide to Business Property Relief (BPR) for 2026/27: what qualifies for 100% or 50% relief, the two-year rule, traps and how it slashes inheritance tax.
Deputyship vs power of attorney in the UK for 2026: how each works, costs, who can use them, tax duties and the money decisions a deputy or attorney must handle.
How the discretionary trust 10-year (periodic) IHT charge works in 2026/27, who pays it, how it is calculated step by step, and how to plan ahead.
How the normal expenditure out of income IHT exemption works in 2026/27, who qualifies, the records HMRC wants, and how to gift unlimited amounts free of inheritance tax.
How the gift with reservation of benefit rules drag gifts back into your estate for inheritance tax in 2026/27, plus how to avoid the trap legally.
A plain-English guide to UK intestacy rules for 2026: who inherits without a will, the spouse statutory legacy, and how inheritance tax interacts.
How to set up a Lasting Power of Attorney in England and Wales in 2026 -- types, costs, registration, the financial powers it grants and how to avoid pitfalls.
Learn how writing UK life insurance in trust can keep the payout outside your estate, avoid 40% inheritance tax and speed up money to your family in 2026/27.
How the normal expenditure out of income exemption lets you give away surplus income free of inheritance tax in 2026/27, with rules, records and examples.
A plain-English guide to the UK probate process in 2026/27 - what probate is, who applies, how long it takes, fees, and how Inheritance Tax fits in.
How the GBP 175,000 residence nil-rate band works in 2026/27, who qualifies, the taper above GBP 2m, and how couples can pass on GBP 1m IHT-free.
How settlor-interested trusts are taxed in the UK for 2026/27 - income, capital gains and inheritance tax rules, the key anti-avoidance traps, and worked examples.
How the 7-year rule works for inheritance tax in 2026/27, including taper relief, the GBP 325,000 nil-rate band, exemptions and how to plan gifts safely.
How inheritance tax taper relief works on gifts in 2026/27, the 7-year rule, the GBP 325,000 nil-rate band and when the 40% IHT rate really applies.
How tax works when someone dies in the UK for 2026/27: inheritance tax, the estate's income and capital gains, plus the steps executors must take.
How the transferable nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band let married couples and civil partners pass on up to GBP 1 million free of inheritance tax in 2026/27.
AIM-listed shares held for two years can qualify for 50% Business Property Relief, halving the IHT on their value. Rules, risks and portfolio strategy.
Gifting assets while continuing to benefit from them will not remove them from your estate for IHT. Learn GWR rules, POAT, exceptions, and alternatives that actually work in 2026/27.
Understand the inheritance tax annual gift exemption for 2026/27: the £3,000 rule, small gifts, marriage exemptions and more.
The inheritance tax spouse exemption can leave major gaps. Learn when IHT still applies to married couples in the UK 2026/27 tax year.
From April 2027 most unused pension funds will count toward your estate for inheritance tax. This is one of the biggest pension rule changes in a generation.
Gifts from surplus income leave your estate immediately with no seven-year wait. The normal expenditure out of income IHT exemption has no annual cap -- here is how it works.
When a spouse dies, their ISA savings do not have to lose their tax-free status. The Additional Permitted Subscription lets the survivor inherit the ISA allowance on top of their own in 2026/27.
Regular gifts out of surplus income can be immediately exempt from Inheritance Tax, with no upper limit and no seven-year wait. Here is how the normal expenditure exemption works.
The April 2026 reform to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) -- the new £1m combined cap, the 50% relief above it, and estate planning strategies for farmers and business owners.
There is no gift tax in the UK. But gifts can affect your Inheritance Tax liability. You can give away unlimited cash gifts during your lifetime — but if you die within 7 years, some gifts may be included in your estate. Here's the complete guide.
IHT is 40% above £325,000 — but with the right strategies, married couples can pass on up to £1 million tax-free. Full 2026/27 guide covering the 7-year rule, annual exemptions, Business Property Relief, and the critical April 2027 pension change.
UK intestacy rules 2026: who inherits when there is no will — spouse/civil partner first £322k plus half the remainder, children, cohabiting partners get nothing, unmarried parents, and how to avoid intestacy.
IHT at 40% sounds brutal — but couples can shield up to £1M. Here's exactly how the nil-rate band, residence nil-rate band, taper relief and the coming pension changes work in 2026/27.
