- 1. The Scope of the Book: Estate Planning Introduced
- 1.4.5 Three recent taxpayer successes
- 1.5.7 Transactions in securities
- 1.5.13 Two offshore disclosure regimes: 2007 and 2009
- 1.6.1 ‘Spotlights’ and ‘Signposts’
- 4. Trusts: Tax-Efficient Management
- 6. The Family Business
- 9. Investments
- 11. Pensions
- 11.2.2 Withdrawing benefits
- 11.2.3 Transitional provisions
- 11.2.4 Unregistered schemes
- 11.3.1 The basic rule
- 11.3.2 Tax relief
- 11.3.3 Scheme input periods
- 11.3.4 Occupational schemes
- 11.4.1 SIPPs and SSASs distinguished
- 11.4.3 Transactions with employers
- 11.5.2 Tax-free cash
- 11.5.5 Death benefits
- 11.5.6 Age 75: ASP or annuity purchase?
- 11.5.7 Maximise or minimise income in retirement?
- 12. Charitable Giving
- 15. Leaving the UK
- 16. Non-UK Domiciliaries Living in the UK
- 17. Offshore Trusts and Companies
- 18. Wills
- 20. Compliance
Chapter: 2 - Inheritance Tax Mitigation: The Basics
Overview
2.6.1
It often comes as something of a shock to people to discover quite how much the contents of their house (or houses) and other personal possessions are worth. But all that value is potentially subject to IHT on death; subject of course to the spouse/civil partner (and possibly the charities) exemptions. There remains still a widespread but mistaken belief that in valuing chattels on death there is a permissible discount from market value of something up to one-third. That is not the case, as HMRC Inheritance Tax have been reminding us at various points over the last two to three years. The statutory valuation rule is ‘the price which the property might reasonably to fetch if sold in the open market’ at the date of death (IHTA 1984 s160).
So, what’s to be done? The answer could be (as developed at 8.3):


