Inheritance Tax is charged at 40% on the value of your estate above your available allowances. The standard nil rate band has been frozen at £325,000 per person since 2009. The Residence Nil Rate Band adds up to £175,000 if you’re passing your home to direct descendants. Both allowances can transfer between spouses. But for property investors and landlords with portfolios worth significantly more than these thresholds, IHT is not a theoretical problem — it’s a certainty without planning.
The challenge with IHT planning for property owners is that most of your wealth is tied up in illiquid assets. You can’t easily give away a buy-to-let portfolio in the same way you can gift cash. The structures are more complex, the tax implications of any transfer need careful calculation, and the interaction between IHT, CGT, and income tax means that what looks like a simple gift can create unexpected liabilities.
We prepare a personalised IHT planning report for every client. We assess your current exposure, model different scenarios, and recommend practical steps you can take now — not vague suggestions, but specific actions with the numbers attached. Whether that’s restructuring how you hold assets, making gifts within the 7-year window, using trusts, or taking out life insurance to cover a future liability.
We review the full estate position: property portfolio valuations and outstanding mortgages, pension death benefit nominations, savings and investment structures, business interests and any available reliefs, existing wills and trust arrangements. The output is a written report showing your current IHT exposure on first and second death, with specific recommendations.
Moving property between family members, into trusts, or into company structures can reduce your IHT exposure. But each option has CGT, SDLT, and income tax implications. We model the full picture before recommending anything.
Gifts made more than 7 years before death fall outside your estate. We advise on what to gift, when, and how to structure it so it’s effective without creating a tax bill today.
Where IHT can’t be eliminated, it can be funded. A whole-of-life policy written in trust can cover the expected liability so your family isn’t forced to sell property to pay the tax bill.
Book a free 30-minute consultation to discuss your property tax position with a specialist accountant.
