Inheritance Tax
planning
‘Let’s talk about tax, maybe..?’
Inheritance Tax (IHT) is largely a voluntary tax, payable just 6 months after death, by the family and loved ones of anybody who couldn’t be arsed to plan for it during their lifetime.!
It’s the most hated, and perhaps least fair, of all taxes and here’s why
You pay tax throughout your life, then your family pays up to another 40% IHT when you die. By doing nothing, you’re likely leaving 40% to the taxman
So, how can you legally and legitimately pass your money to your children when you die.? So, how do you remove the taxman’s snout from your family’s trough.?
It’s 100% your choice
Let’s be crystal clear: IHT is only a problem, if you let it be a problem. It’s only a problem if your focus is on today, the here and now, and not on planning for your family, for their future
So, decide, who do you like more? HMRC or your family? Doing nothing defaults to HMRC rules, and you’re not going to like those as the tax authority has a hostile process for just about everything
By doing nothing, here’s your reality
If you’ve got, say, 3 kids then, above the IHT nil rate band, it’s 40% to HMRC, and 20% to each of your children.!
Here’s how your conversation with your kids goes:
‘One day, son, 60% of everything we ever worked for, will be shared between you and your two sisters, that’s 20% each. We’re giving 40% to the taxman!’
Then your kids can tell everyone, ‘for dad so loved the world, he gave the taxman twice as much as he gave me!’
Maybe you’d prefer a message from the future: ‘Your planning was sorted and here’s what you saved your family’
Right here, right now, the tax authority likely is, by default, the main beneficiary of your estate, and that’s how YOU are planning it – by doing nothing
Up with this, we will not put
So, take control, clear up your mess. If you’re not up for that, then we’re done here, because we can’t help you. Nobody can
We call it the ‘You’ve got your troubles, I’ve got wine’ approach
There’s a ‘Highway to Hell’ but only a ‘Stairway to Heaven’
You already know you need to take action to plan for IHT, but knowing is not doing, and it’s doing that brings results. That’s when the magic happens
UK IHT rules and regulations legitimately allow all of us to plan for our demise, an event which WILL happen to every one of us; fact. We are just talking about tax-efficiencies allowed by legislation, nothing contrived or artificial
It’s about passing your wealth, to the people that matter to you, your family, in the most effective way
The problem is that the event for which you are planning likely will happen sometime in the future. It’s not important today, not right now, so human nature puts planning off, likely until the event is imminent
Trouble is, by then it’s too late..
If you do nothing, then you need to know what will happen
Death is a convenient time for the tax authority to take a share, often the lion’s share, of your entire estate, your lifetime’s work, your legacy. It’s been the case since Roman times and happens in every country in the world. Always has, always will, it’s a fact of death
Do nothing and that’s how your kids and grandkids will remember you – for the mess you left behind
It’s them that have to sort out their much reduced legacies
Fact is, the day after you die, HMRC starts the clock. It ticks for just over 6 months, then Inheritance Tax must be paid
So HOW are your children and grandchildren going to do that?
If your assets included property or shares then your family will have to obtain probate, regardless of the value of your estate, and the tax may be due at the time of the probate application. All this might be just a few weeks after you died
So, HOW are your kids and grandkids going to pay that.?
The tax on property and some shares can be paid over several years – so you landed your loved ones with a mortgage-type commitment
We said earlier they’d remember you.!
Experience suggests, most beneficiaries prefer not to take that route. They want closure, and you didn’t provide it. So, they may have to sell your properties, or shares, but what if the market just had its long overdue correction.?
Your tax is on fire..!
IHT is complex, perhaps the most challenging of all taxes and, likely, you’re not up to planning it yourself.You won’t like this reality but, unless your existing advisors are IHT specialists, they’re probably not up to it either. You need a specialist, not a willing amateur. No matter how well qualified, and how good a friend, a generalist is a generalist. In the same way as a GP knows a little about a lot, there always comes a point when you’re referred to a specialist consultant..
IHT is intellectually challenging, even for advisors. Total understanding of the counter currents of planning and legislation is required
You need a specialist IHT planner. Someone to whom IHT is a vocation
Ask your advisor for examples of complex IHT problems they have solved in, say, the last 90 days, and an outline of the planning. I’m guessing we all know how that’s going to play out..
Our Rethink.tax business model is that of enabler to specialists, and we have one or more, for just about any IHT scenario we come across. We work with you to understand your circumstances and requirements then you engage, in writing, with our team of Chartered Tax Advisors who will be fully responsible for the advice to you
We are all about process. Choosing the best of the best in each discipline and constantly monitoring performance
We lead the discussions and pull everything together for you. Then a Chartered Tax Advisor will design and implement your bespoke solution for your family. Simple and effective
We will introduce you to a Private Client solicitor, if you don’t already have one, who will prepare your Will making sure it incorporates all of the planning recommended by our Chartered Tax Advisor
Then the same lawyer, or at least the same firm, handles probate for your family when the time comes..
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- Richard Mancey
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- “Acted for me since 1998. Great ability to look at the bigger picture and always with my interests uppermost. Well connected and typically brings other professionals in to the advice process”
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- Chairman, Trant Engineering Ltd
- “I have been a client for more than 10 years throughout which time I have found them to be professional and competent, operating as part of a team with a wide knowledge of tax and related planning. They put my interests first and are particularly good at explaining technical subject matter in a straightforward way”
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- Chairman, Keystone Legal Ltd a Sunday Times Top 100 Track company
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- Managing Director, T Clark & Son Ltd
