Table of Contents
Part I: The Groundwork of Your Fortress
Section 1: My Personal Brush with the “Inheritance Tax Ghost”
I remember the moment with perfect clarity.
It was a grey Tuesday afternoon, and I was sitting at my parents’ kitchen table.
Between us lay a jumble of paperwork—pension statements, mortgage deeds, investment summaries.
They had worked their entire lives, diligently saving, paying off their home, and building a modest nest e.g. They were proud, and rightly so.
But as we tried to make sense of the numbers, a cold, unsettling presence seemed to enter the room.
I call it the “Inheritance Tax Ghost.”
It was the sudden, dawning realisation that this legacy they had so painstakingly built was under a silent threat.
The home I grew up in, the savings meant to provide security for their grandchildren—a significant portion of it could be claimed by a tax we barely understood.1
The conversation, which had started with pride, became laced with anxiety and confusion.
We felt powerless, facing a complex system designed, it seemed, to penalize prudence and hard work.
The ghost wasn’t just about money; it was about the potential unraveling of a life’s work, the risk that their legacy could be diminished by a lack of knowledge.2
This experience is not unique.
For countless families across the UK, Inheritance Tax (IHT) looms as an intimidating and often misunderstood force.
The core problem isn’t simply “paying tax.” It’s the spectre of unintentional legacy destruction.
It’s the very real risk that your loved ones, at a time of immense grief and upheaval, could be forced to sell cherished assets—most painfully, the family home—simply to settle a tax bill they were unprepared for.2
This guide is born from that moment of anxiety at the kitchen table.
It is the result of a journey from confusion to clarity, designed to banish the ghost and empower you to protect what you’ve built.
Section 2: The New Paradigm: From Tax Victim to Fortress Architect
My journey through the labyrinth of IHT rules led to a profound shift in mindset.
I began to see that IHT is not some malevolent, arbitrary force.
It is a system.
A complex one, certainly, but a system with rules, structures, and—crucially—pathways.
You do not have to be a victim of this system.
You can be its master.
You can become the architect of your own Legacy Fortress.
This analogy is the key to transforming your approach from one of fear to one of strategy.
It reframes the entire challenge:
- The Land: This is your total estate—everything you own, including your property, savings, investments, and possessions.4
- The Fortress: This represents your legacy, the wealth and security you wish to pass on, protected and preserved for your family.
- The Building Code: These are the rules of Inheritance Tax. They are rigid and must be respected, but they are knowable.
- The Defences: These are the various allowances, exemptions, gifts, and trusts available to you. They are the walls, keeps, watchtowers, and secret passages of your fortress.
- The Architect: This is you. Armed with knowledge and a clear vision for your legacy, you will design the fortress.
- The Master Builder: This is your professional adviser—a specialist solicitor or financial planner who will help you execute your design flawlessly, ensuring every stone is laid according to the code.2
By adopting this mindset, you move from a passive, fearful position to an active, empowered one.
The goal is no longer to vaguely “avoid a tax” but to consciously and deliberately “build a robust, defensible structure.”
Section 3: Surveying the Land: The Unshakeable Rules of the IHT Kingdom
Before construction can begin, every architect must survey the land and understand the fundamental laws that govern it.
In the kingdom of IHT, these rules are absolute.
The core mechanic of IHT is straightforward: the standard tax rate is a formidable 40% on the value of your estate that exceeds your available tax-free allowances.6
Your estate comprises the total value of all your assets—property, money, investments, possessions—minus any outstanding debts and liabilities, such as a mortgage or loans.4
The tax is typically due within six months of the end of the month of death, a tight deadline that can create immense pressure on your executors.8
A pervasive myth is that IHT is a tax reserved only for the super-rich.9
This may have once been true, but it is a dangerously outdated belief.
The primary reason for this shift is a phenomenon known as “fiscal drag.” The main tax-free threshold, the Nil-Rate Band (NRB), has been frozen at £325,000 since 2009 and is set to remain there until at least 2028.3
Over that same period, asset values, particularly property, have climbed relentlessly.
This combination of rising wealth and static allowances acts like a silent, rising tide, pulling more and more ordinary families into the IHT net each year.
The numbers tell a stark story.
Last year, HMRC collected a record £7.5 billion from IHT.3
While currently only around 4-5% of estates pay the tax, this figure is projected to rise to 7% by 2032-33, with one in eight people being part of an estate that faces an IHT liability.12
The threat is growing not because more people are becoming “wealthy” in the traditional sense, but because the goalposts have remained fixed while the game has changed around them.
This is not a passive observation; it is a critical insight into the political and economic mechanics of taxation.
Freezing thresholds is a form of “stealth tax.” It allows a government to increase its revenue year after year without the politically damaging headlines that come with explicitly raising the 40% rate.
The consequence for you is that the question is no longer, “Am I rich enough to worry about IHT?” The correct question is, “Is the value of my estate growing faster than the frozen allowances?” For most homeowners in the UK, the answer is a resounding yes.
| Table 1: UK IHT Rates and Thresholds at a Glance (2024/2025) | ||
| Allowance / Rate | Amount / Percentage | |
| Nil-Rate Band (NRB) | £325,000 | |
| Residence Nil-Rate Band (RNRB) | £175,000 | |
| Total Potential Individual Threshold | £500,000 | |
| Total Potential Couple’s Threshold | £1,000,000 | |
| Standard IHT Rate | 40% | |
| Reduced Rate (with 10%+ to charity) | 36% | |
| Data sourced from 3 |
Part II: Constructing Your Defences
With the landscape surveyed, it is time to build.
A formidable fortress relies on layers of defence, from mighty outer walls to a heavily fortified central keep.
Section 4: The Main Walls: Your Core Tax-Free Allowances
These are the foundational defences of your fortress, available to almost everyone.
Understanding and using them correctly is the first and most vital step in IHT planning.
The Spousal Exemption: This is the strongest wall in your entire defensive arsenal.
Any assets passed between spouses or civil partners are 100% exempt from IHT, regardless of their value.7
An estate of £10 million can pass from one spouse to another with zero tax to pay.
However, this powerful defence contains a notorious trap: it does
not apply to unmarried, cohabiting partners, no matter how long the relationship.15
Forgetting this distinction is one of the most common and devastating errors in estate planning.
The Nil-Rate Band (NRB): This is the foundational defence for every individual.
The first £325,000 of your estate can be passed on to anyone—children, other relatives, friends—completely free of tax.4
This is your personal tax-free allowance.
The Transferable Nil-Rate Band (TNRB): This is where married couples and civil partners can combine their defences.
If the first spouse to die leaves their entire estate to the surviving spouse, they use the 100% spousal exemption.
This means their personal £325,000 NRB goes unused.
The law allows this unused NRB to be transferred to the surviving spouse’s estate.
This effectively doubles the survivor’s tax-free allowance from £325,000 to £650,000, a hugely valuable planning tool.7
The Charitable Exemption: This defence serves a dual purpose.
Any gift made to a qualifying UK charity, either during your lifetime or in your will, is completely exempt from IHT.4
Furthermore, if you leave at least 10% of your “net estate” (the total value after deducting debts and the NRB) to charity, you unlock a powerful benefit: the IHT rate on the rest of your taxable estate is reduced from 40% to 36%.6
This can be a highly effective strategy, allowing you to support causes you care about while also reducing the tax bill for your other beneficiaries.
Section 5: The Keep: Fortifying the Family Home with the RNRB
For most families, the home is not just their largest asset; it is the heart of their legacy.
The Residence Nil-Rate Band (RNRB) is a specialist defence designed specifically to protect it.
It acts as the central keep of your fortress.
The RNRB provides an additional £175,000 tax-free allowance, on top of the standard £325,000 NRB, bringing an individual’s potential total threshold to £500,000.3
For a married couple, these allowances can be combined and transferred, potentially allowing up to £1 million of their estate to pass to their children tax-free.4
However, this powerful keep has strict rules of engagement that must be followed precisely:
- Direct Descendants Only: The RNRB can only be claimed if your main residence is passed to your “direct descendants.” This includes children, grandchildren, and their spouses, as well as step-children, adopted children, and foster children.4 It cannot be used for assets left to siblings, nieces, nephews, or friends.
- Main Residence: The relief applies only to your interest in one residential property that has been your main home at some point.3
- Downsizing Provisions: Sensibly, the rules allow you to claim the RNRB even if you no longer own a home when you die. If you downsized or sold your property (for example, to move into a care facility) on or after 8 July 2015, your estate can still claim the relief, provided that assets of equivalent value are passed to your direct descendants.17 This is a complex but vital provision that requires careful record-keeping.
The Hidden Trap: The £2 Million Taper
This is a critical detail that acts as a “cliff edge” for larger estates.
If the net value of your estate (after deducting debts but before reliefs) exceeds £2 million, the RNRB is progressively reduced.
The allowance is tapered away by £1 for every £2 the estate is over the threshold.
This means that for estates valued at £2.35 million or more, the entire £175,000 RNRB is lost completely.3
The existence of the RNRB, while well-intentioned, adds a significant layer of complexity to IHT planning.
It was introduced as a political measure to address public concern over family homes being subject to IHT.
However, its strict rules create an inherent unfairness.
A couple with a £1 million home and few other assets can pass their entire estate on tax-free.
In contrast, a childless couple or an individual with £1 million in savings but no property cannot use the RNRB and would face a substantial tax bill on the same value estate.18
As property values continue to rise, particularly in London and the South East, more families will find their estates pushed over the £2 million taper threshold, causing them to unexpectedly lose this valuable relief.
The RNRB is therefore not a universal benefit; it is a targeted, complex relief that makes professional will-drafting and strategic estate planning more critical than ever.
Section 6: The Watchtowers: Strategic Gifting and the 7-Year Rule
Building watchtowers on the walls of your fortress allows you to see threats coming and act preemptively.
In IHT planning, strategic gifting is your watchtower.
By moving assets out of your estate during your lifetime, you can significantly reduce its final value and, therefore, the potential tax bill.14
The central principle governing this strategy is the famous 7-year rule.
The 7-Year Rule Analogy: “Disappearing Ink”
Think of large gifts you make—known as Potentially Exempt Transfers (PETs)—as being written onto your estate’s balance sheet in “disappearing ink”.14
- If you survive for 7 years after making the gift, the ink vanishes completely. The gift is permanently outside your estate and free from IHT.20
- If you die within 7 years, the ink becomes permanent. The gift is pulled back into your estate for the IHT calculation and will use up your £325,000 Nil-Rate Band first before any tax is due.19
Taper Relief: The Ink Fades
If you die between years 3 and 7, the tax on the gift (but only on the portion of the gift that exceeds the Nil-Rate Band) begins to fade.
This is Taper Relief.
It is a crucial distinction: Taper Relief does not reduce the value of the gift that is brought back into your estate; it reduces the rate of tax paid on it.20
| Table 2: The Taper Relief Sliding Scale | ||
| Years Between Gift and Death | Rate of Tax on the Gift | |
| 3 to 4 years | 32% | |
| 4 to 5 years | 24% | |
| 5 to 6 years | 16% | |
| 6 to 7 years | 8% | |
| 7 or more years | 0% | |
| Data sourced from 17 |
Annual Allowances: The “Free” Defences
Alongside the 7-year rule for large gifts, the system provides several smaller, “free” defences.
These are gifts you can make every year that are immediately exempt from IHT.
They do not use the disappearing ink; they are never written on the balance sheet at all.
| Table 3: Annual Gifting Allowances Summary | ||
| Allowance | Rules and Limits | |
| Annual Exemption | You can give away a total of £3,000 worth of gifts each tax year. This can be to one person or split among several. If unused, it can be carried forward for one year only, allowing a gift of up to £6,000.12 | |
| Small Gift Allowance | You can give as many gifts of up to £250 per person as you want each tax year. Crucially, you cannot use this on someone who has already received a gift using any part of your £3,000 annual exemption.14 | |
| Wedding or Civil Partnership Gifts | You can give tax-free gifts to someone getting married: up to £5,000 to a child, £2,500 to a grandchild or great-grandchild, and £1,000 to any other person.14 | |
| Gifts from Regular Income | A powerful and often underused exemption. If you have surplus income (e.g., from pensions or investments) after meeting all your usual living costs, you can make regular gifts from it. These are completely IHT-free and there is no limit, provided they are regular and do not diminish your standard of living. This is perfect for funding grandchildren’s school fees or regular savings plans.14 | |
| Data sourced from 14 |
The “Gift with Reservation of Benefit” Trap
A final, critical warning for this section.
The entire gifting strategy is nullified if you fall into the “gift with reservation” trap.
If you give an asset away but continue to derive a benefit from it, HMRC will treat it as if you still own it.
The classic example is gifting your house to your children but continuing to live there without paying a full market-rate rent.
In this scenario, the 7-year clock never starts, and the full value of the house remains in your estate upon your death.16
This is one of the most common and costly mistakes in DIY estate planning.
Part III: Advanced Fortifications and Reinforcements
For those with more complex estates or specific goals, the fortress can be enhanced with advanced structures and specialist defences.
Section 7: Secret Passages & Hidden Defences: Trusts, Reliefs, and Insurance
Trusts: The Secure Vault Analogy
A trust is a legal arrangement that acts like a secure, time-locked vault for your assets.25
When you place assets into a trust, you are transferring legal ownership to the “trustees” (the vault keepers), who must manage them according to a strict set of instructions (the trust deed) for the benefit of your chosen “beneficiaries.” The key principle is that you no longer own the assets; the trust does.
This removes them from your estate for IHT purposes, typically after 7 years.27
- Bare Trust: This is the simplest type of vault. The assets are held for a named beneficiary who has an absolute right to them (and any income) once they reach age 18 (16 in Scotland). The beneficiary cannot be changed.27
- Discretionary Trust: This is a highly flexible vault. You name a group of potential beneficiaries, but the trustees have the discretion to decide who gets what, how much, and when. This is an excellent tool for providing for future generations (e.g., grandchildren who are not yet born) or for beneficiaries who may be vulnerable or unable to manage a large sum of money themselves.27
- Interest in Possession Trust: This vault has two stages. It can be set up to pay out all the income it generates to one beneficiary for a set period (often their lifetime), known as the “life tenant.” When the life tenant dies, the capital within the vault passes to other beneficiaries, known as the “remaindermen.” This is commonly used in situations involving second marriages, to provide for a new spouse while ensuring the ultimate capital passes to children from a first marriage.27
Business & Agricultural Relief (BR & AR): The Specialist Garrisons
These are two of the most powerful reliefs in the entire IHT system, acting as specialist garrisons that can provide 100% protection for certain assets.
- Business Relief (BR): This can provide either 50% or 100% relief from IHT on the value of a qualifying business or shares in one. It typically applies to shares in an unlisted trading company or a controlling stake in a listed one. It is a cornerstone of succession planning for family business owners.14 A common misconception is that all mainstream investments are subject to IHT. However, certain investments, such as a portfolio of shares on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), can qualify for BR. This means that after holding the investment for just two years, it can become 100% exempt from IHT, a much shorter timeframe than the 7-year rule for gifts.2
- Agricultural Relief (AR): This works similarly for agricultural property, offering up to 100% relief on the value of qualifying farmland and farm buildings. It is vital for passing on working farms through the generations without them having to be broken up to pay tax.14 Case studies have shown that the correct application of these reliefs can reduce an IHT bill by hundreds of thousands of pounds.30
Life Insurance: The Contingency Fund
This strategy is different.
It doesn’t reduce the IHT bill, but it provides a tax-free lump sum specifically to pay it, ensuring your beneficiaries don’t have to find the cash or sell assets.31
The strategy involves taking out a “whole of life” insurance policy, with the payout amount calculated to match the estimated IHT liability.
However, there is one absolutely crucial step: the policy must be written “in trust”.2
When a policy is in trust, the proceeds are paid directly to the trustees for the benefit of your beneficiaries.
The money never technically enters your estate.
If you fail to place the policy in trust, the payout itself is added to the value of your estate, perversely increasing the very IHT bill it was designed to pay.18
Section 8: Preparing for the Siege: Navigating the Upcoming IHT Changes (2025-2030)
A fortress must be built not just for today’s threats, but for the battles of tomorrow.
The IHT landscape is not static; significant changes are on the horizon that will reshape the strategic map.
| Table 4: Timeline of Upcoming UK Inheritance Tax Changes | ||
| Effective Date | Change | |
| April 2025 | The “non-domiciled” status is abolished. IHT will be based on residency. Individuals resident in the UK for 10 years will be subject to IHT on their worldwide assets.12 | |
| April 2026 | Changes to Agricultural and Business Relief. The first £1 million of farm/business assets remains tax-free, but assets above this value will face IHT for the first time, albeit at a reduced effective rate of 20% due to 50% relief.12 | |
| April 2027 | Defined contribution pensions will be brought into the scope of IHT. Their value will be included as part of the estate and subject to the standard 40% tax rate.12 | |
| April 2028-2030 | The Nil-Rate Band (£325,000) and Residence Nil-Rate Band (£175,000) will remain frozen, continuing the effect of “fiscal drag” and pulling more estates into the IHT net.12 | |
| Data sourced from 12 |
Of all these changes, the inclusion of pensions in the IHT calculation from April 2027 represents a fundamental paradigm shift in UK financial planning.
For decades, a cornerstone of sound advice has been to preserve your pension pot for as long as possible.
It was considered the most tax-efficient asset to pass on, as it grew tax-free and sat completely outside your estate for IHT purposes.2
The strategy was simple: spend your other assets, like ISAs and savings, first, and leave your pension until last.
The 2027 change completely inverts this logic.
From that date, a defined contribution pension pot will be treated like any other asset, forming part of the estate and being subject to the 40% tax rate.12
This is not a minor tweak; it is a seismic event that invalidates decades of conventional wisdom.
It means that individuals with significant pension wealth must urgently re-evaluate their entire retirement and estate strategy.
The old advice may become actively detrimental.
The new logic may require individuals to consider drawing down their pensions earlier in retirement to spend or to gift (and start the 7-year clock), thereby reducing the final value that will be exposed to IHT.
This change alone makes a consultation with a professional financial adviser an absolute necessity for anyone with a substantial pension.
Part IV: Manning the Fortress
A fortress, no matter how well designed, is only as strong as the people who man its walls and follow its protocols.
The final stage of planning is about implementation and avoiding the common human errors that can leave the gates wide open.
Section 9: Avoiding Self-Sabotage: The Most Common and Costly IHT Mistakes
In reviewing countless estates, a pattern of common and costly mistakes emerges.
These are the acts of self-sabotage that can bring the walls of a well-intentioned fortress crumbling down.
- Failing to Make a Will: This is the most fundamental error. Dying “intestate” (without a will) means your estate will be distributed according to rigid legal formulas that may bear no resemblance to your wishes. For unmarried partners, it can mean the surviving partner receives nothing automatically. For married couples with children and an estate over £270,000, it can trigger an immediate and unnecessary IHT charge as assets are diverted to the children instead of the spouse.16
- Ignoring Gifting Allowances: Many people are simply unaware of the annual exemptions. Failing to use the £3,000 annual gift allowance over 20 years for a couple means £120,000 that could have been passed on tax-free remains in the estate, potentially creating a £48,000 tax bill.23
- The “Gift with Reservation” Trap: This mistake is so common it bears repeating. Gifting your home but continuing to live in it rent-free is a classic IHT planning failure. HMRC will simply ignore the gift.16
- Misunderstanding Trusts: Viewing trusts as either too complex to bother with or, conversely, setting one up without proper advice. An improperly structured trust can fail to achieve its objective, lock up assets inconveniently, and create its own tax complications.23
- Failing to Plan for Illiquidity: This is the “cash poor, asset rich” problem. An estate may be worth £1 million, but if £950,000 of that is the family home, where does the cash come from to pay the IHT bill? The tax is due within six months, often forcing a hurried and painful sale of assets.2
- Out-of-Date Planning: Estate planning is not a “one and done” activity. A will drafted a decade ago is likely to be dangerously obsolete. Tax laws change, asset values rise, and family circumstances evolve (marriage, divorce, births, deaths). An outdated plan can be as bad as no plan at all.2
Section 10: The Sentries at the Gate: The Indispensable Role of Professional Advice
This guide has provided you with the architectural blueprint for your Legacy Fortress.
It gives you the knowledge to understand the terrain, the rules of the building code, and the defensive structures at your disposal.
But to turn that blueprint into a solid, unbreachable reality, you need a Master Builder.2
In the world of IHT planning, your Master Builder is a qualified professional—a solicitor who specialises in wills and trusts, or a Chartered Financial Planner with expertise in estate planning.35
The sheer complexity of the rules—from the RNRB taper to the interaction between gifts and trusts (which can create a little-known “14-year rule” 37)—makes DIY planning a high-stakes gamble.
A small, innocent mistake can easily cost your family tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of pounds.
Seeking professional advice should not be viewed as a cost, but as the most critical investment you can make in the security of your legacy.2
A good adviser will conduct a full wealth review, use cashflow modelling to show the impact of different strategies, and ensure every available relief is claimed correctly and documented meticulously.38
As case studies show, the tax saved by professional planning often dwarfs the fee for the advice itself.40
The journey that began with anxiety at the kitchen table ends with empowerment.
The Inheritance Tax Ghost thrives on confusion and inaction.
It is banished by knowledge and strategy.
Take the blueprint this guide has offered, find your Master Builder, and begin the work.
Constructing your Legacy Fortress is the most important building project you will ever undertake.
Works cited
- Inheritance Tax Planning – Mit Fiscal, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.mitfiscal.co.uk/inheritance-tax-planning.php
- The 15 Biggest Inheritance Tax Mistakes – Be Warned! (Part 2), accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.taxinsider.co.uk/the-biggest-inheritance-tax-mistakes-be-warned-part-ta-1
- Inheritance Tax Thresholds in 2025: What Families Need to Plan For – Howard & Over, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.howard-over.co.uk/inheritance-tax-thresholds-in-2025-what-families-need-to-plan-for/
- What is Inheritance Tax? Thresholds & Allowances – Age UK, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/income-tax/inheritance-tax/
- Inheritance Tax Calculator – Aviva, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.aviva.co.uk/financial-advice/inheritance-tax-calculator/
- Inheritance Tax thresholds – Royal London for advisers, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://adviser.royallondon.com/technical-central/rates-and-factors/tax-rates-and-allowances/inheritance-tax/
- How Inheritance Tax works: thresholds, rules and allowances: Overview – GOV.UK, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax
- A guide to Inheritance Tax | MoneyHelper, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/death-and-bereavement/a-guide-to-inheritance-tax
- Common Myths about Inheritance Tax Planning: Busting the Misconceptions – Farnfields, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://farnfields.com/common-myths-about-inheritance-tax-planning-busting-the-misconceptions/
- Common Myths about Inheritance Tax Planning: Busting the …, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.spiresolicitors.co.uk/common-myths-about-inheritance-tax-planning-busting-the-misconceptions/
- 7 common but potentially harmful Inheritance Tax myths debunked – Infinity Financial Advice, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://infinityfinancialadvice.co.uk/7-common-but-potentially-harmful-inheritance-tax-myths-debunked/
- How upcoming changes to Inheritance Tax rules could affect you …, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://thelevelgroup.co.uk/guides/how-upcoming-changes-to-inheritance-tax-rules-could-affect-you/
- Reforming inheritance tax – Institute for Fiscal Studies, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://ifs.org.uk/publications/reforming-inheritance-tax
- Gifts and exemptions from Inheritance Tax – MoneyHelper, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/death-and-bereavement/gifts-and-exemptions-from-inheritance-tax
- Inheritance tax: thresholds for 2025/26 – MoneySavingExpert, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/inheritance-tax-planning-iht/
- The 3 myths that could be costing you a large Inheritance Tax bill | Solicitors Surrey, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.downslaw.co.uk/blog/the-3-myths-that-could-be-costing-you-a-large-inheritance-tax-bill/
- Inheritance tax query – Dementia Support Forum, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/threads/inheritance-tax-query.160231/
- 7 inheritance tax myths – Headley Financial Services, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.headleyfs.com/news/7-inheritance-tax-myths/
- The seven-year rule – why it matters when making financial gifts | Evelyn Partners, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.evelyn.com/insights-and-events/insights/the-seven-year-rule-why-it-matters-when-making-financial-gifts/
- How Inheritance Tax works: thresholds, rules and allowances: Rules on giving gifts, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts
- What is the seven year Inheritance Tax rule? | St. James’s Place, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.sjp.co.uk/individuals/news/what-is-the-seven-year-inheritance-tax-rule
- What is the 7 year rule in inheritance tax? | The Private Office, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.theprivateoffice.com/insights/7-year-rule-inheritance-tax
- Top 4 Inheritance Tax mistakes and how to avoid them – Metis Wealth, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://metiswealth.co.uk/top-4-inheritance-tax-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/
- The 7-Year Rule: Why you can’t just give it all away – The Burnside Partnership, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://theburnsidepartnership.com/the-7-year-rule-why-you-cant-just-give-it-all-away/
- What is an Inheritance tax trust? – bluebond, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.bluebond.co.uk/blogs/what-is-an-inheritance-tax-trust
- Kyle’s Famous Analogies – KRASA LAW, Inc., accessed on August 11, 2025, https://krasalaw.com/2016/05/30/kyles-famous-analogies/
- Using a trust to cut your Inheritance Tax – MoneyHelper, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/death-and-bereavement/using-a-trust-to-cut-your-inheritance-tax
- The ABCs of IHT: inheritance tax explained | Evelyn Partners, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.evelyn.com/insights-and-events/insights/inheritance-tax-explained/
- Wills and inheritance tax advice – Tax Innovations, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.taxinnovations.com/specialist-tax-planning/inheritance-tax-planning/wills-and-inheritance-tax/
- Case Study: Paying the Right Inheritance Tax – Armstrong Watson, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.armstrongwatson.co.uk/case-studies/are-you-going-pay-right-amount-inheritance-tax
- Inheritance tax planning: a pragmatic approach – Tax Adviser magazine, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.taxadvisermagazine.com/article/inheritance-tax-planning-pragmatic-approach
- 6 Costly Inheritance Tax Mistakes to Avoid When Passing Your Estate On To Your Children, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.drewberryinsurance.co.uk/inheritance-tax-advice/guides/6-costly-inheritance-tax-mistakes-children-to-avoid
- Inheritance tax – Britain’s “most-hated” tax is often misunderstood – Charles Stanley, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.charles-stanley.co.uk/insights/commentary/inheritance-tax-britains-most-hated-tax-is-often-misunderstood
- Common mistakes in inheritance tax planning and how to avoid them – TSF Assessments, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://tsfassessments.co.uk/common-mistakes-in-inheritance-tax-planning-and-how-to-avoid-them/
- 9 Inheritance Tax mistakes – and how to avoid them – My Continuum, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://mycontinuum.co.uk/9-inheritance-tax-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/
- TOP 7 MISTAKES FOR INHERITANCE TAX PLANNING, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://buckinghamgate.co.uk/guides/Top-7-mistakes.pdf
- Estate planning: when does the 7-year rule become the 14-year rule? | Brodies LLP, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://brodies.com/insights/personal-tax-planning-and-compliance/estate-planning-when-does-the-7-year-rule-become-the-14-year-rule/
- Our inheritance tax advice eases client’s worries – Churchill Taxation, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.churchilltaxation.co.uk/case-studies/case-study-2/
- Private Client Services | Inheritance Tax Planning, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.jamescowperkreston.co.uk/inheritance-tax-planning/
- Inheritance Tax Case Study: Mrs Taylor – First Wealth, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.firstwealth.co.uk/article/inheritance-tax-case-study-mrs-taylor
