Inheritance Tax

 

 

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Inheritance Tax (IHT)

The government levies tax on the value of a person’s estate, if their estate is worth more than the Nil Rate Band. The IHT ‘Nil Rate Band’ (NRB) is currently £325,000 (2026/2027) and many people are still getting caught in the trap of property inheritance tax as the threshold has not kept pace with the inflation of property prices, and so is affecting more and more people. 

There is also an additional ‘main residence’ allowance (‘Property Nil Rate Band’ (PNRB)) which applies if a person’s home is given to their children (including adopted, foster or stepchildren), surviving husband or wife, or grandchildren. This is set at £175,000 (2026/2027) and is added to the IHT threshold providing a total allowance of £500,000 (2026/2027). 

When a relative dies and leaves an estate worth more than £325,000 (2026/2027) or £500,000 (2026/2027) if the ‘main residence’ allowance applies, families are required to pay tax on the amount in excess of the NRB (and PNRB if applicable) within six months. After that, they are charged interest at a rate of 7.5% (2026/2027). 

However, there are ways to lessen the burden of property IHT. 

When you die, it is likely that you would wish to leave as much as possible for your loved ones. Unfortunately, this is often not as simple as you might expect. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will apply 40% tax to the value of your estate over and above that of the NRB (and PNRB) that applies at the time of death. 

No IHT is applicable on ‘inter-spousal transfers’ (money/property/assets that is bequeathed by one spouse (or civil partner) to the other. 

Your estate could include more than you originally realise. It is often easy to dismiss IHT as something that may not affect you as your property may not be over, or much over, the IHT threshold. However, with all your other assets, such as investments, life cover, bank accounts, as well as physical property such as cars, furniture and family heirlooms, many estates are considerably over the threshold without the individuals being aware of it. 
For assets passed between spouses and civil partners, the nil rate band allowance will pass along with the assets. This gives a couple available allowances (nil rate bands) of up to £650,000 (2026/2027), which increases to £1,000,000 (2026/2027) with the addition of the ‘main residence’ allowance detailed above. 

For further information about Inheritance Tax please click here.

Warning Text

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TAX TREATMENT VARIES ACCORDING TO INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. 

THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY DOES NOT REGULATE ADVICE ON ESTATE PLANNING & INHERITANCE TAX PLANNING. 

THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY DOES NOT REGULATE TAXATION ADVICE.

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Andrea - mid 50s

business owner

I came to see Josh not only helping me plan for my retirement but also in helping me look after a Trust fund for my Nieces. Josh is always quick to respond to queries and deals with all requests in a timely and efficient manner. I feel very comfortable in the fact that if I ask for something to be done or need some advice he ALWAYS delivers.
I have not always had this service from other financial advisors. I would happily recommend Josh to anyone needing financial support.

 

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Following our mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis and admission into a residential care home, my sister and I were looking for financial advice on the options available to fund her care. Our main concern before speaking with Josh was finding an adviser who would provide us with sound financial advice.
Josh provided us with various funding options relating to our mother's residential care provision. These options gave my sister and I the information we needed to determine the best way forward in respect of funding our mother's care needs. Josh provided clear, concise, and timely financial advice, and responses to all our questions were swift, friendly, and easy to understand. He also went out of his way to secure an immediate needs care annuity within the timescales required to meet my mother's urgent funding needs.
My sister and I received excellent support from Warwick Road Financial Services and believe that, without Josh's assistance, we would have struggled to achieve a successful outcome.
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IT professional – requiring and receiving ongoing Pre-retirement advice

I approached Jethro several years ago because my wife and I really hadn’t paid any attention to our pension planning. Jethro helped us by identifying various plans from previous employers, and a personal plan that I’d left to stagnate from my contracting days.
The result was that Jethro managed to consolidate all these into single managed portfolios for each of us. One thing we really liked was his clear explanation, regular communication, and friendly but professional approach. He explained things to us in language we could both understand. We found the experience very easy to navigate thanks to Jethro’s detailed and clear explanation and guidance.
We would recommend Jethro to people who need a full-service pension professional to guide them clearly and safely through their options and manage the entire process for them.

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I instructed Claire Adams from Warwick Road Financial services to assist me with consolidating my various pensions into one with Quilter.
Claire took care of everything on my behalf and kept me updated at all times.  Clare was extremely professional, efficient and explained everything in great detail. 
As I was so impressed I also took out life cover, which again Claire found the best deal and it was set up almost instantly.
I would highly recommend Claire to future clients, friends and family as I know they will receive a first-class Service.

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We originally approached Lawrence because we were looking for help with our insurance/mortgage and general finances, whilst in our early 20’s.
Before we had met you, we were concerned about obtaining financial advice from somebody who we didn’t know or wasn’t recommended, due to a family members previous bad experience.
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I found the experience very comforting, knowing that our finances were being taken care of by a professional and that our long-term plans were reachable.
The sort of person that would benefit most from using them would be a young couple, starting out in their careers, as we were when we first met Lawrence.

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