Do It Yourself

out of income and does not affect ones standard of living, any amount of money can be given away and ignored for IHT. However, you should take advice from a tax expert before you make regular gifts to make certain they will be acceptable to the HM Revenue & Customs.

You can make other tax-free gifts, called potentially exempt transfers, as long as you survive for another seven years. If you die within the seven years and the total value of the gifts is more than the £300,000 threshold, you may apply taper relief to any tax you owe.

The tax on the gift reduces on a sliding scale if it was made between three and seven years previously.

If you cannot apply taper relief you add the gifts to your other assets and pay 40 per cent tax on the sum above the £325,000 threshold.

If you are worried that you won’t survive for seven years, you are well advised to purchase a decreasing-term insurance policy that will cover any IHT bill.

Contact a professional Will Writers now and draw up a Will and be sure it properly expresses your wishes and is planned correctly to save the maximum amount of tax.

Transfer assets through the prudent use of lifetime gifts.

Create an IHT-efficient fund to allow beneficiaries of your estate to meet the tax liability without disturbing family wealth.