{"id":607717,"date":"2026-04-16T09:50:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T09:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/607717\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T09:50:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T09:50:28","slug":"hmrc-inheritance-tax-rules-mean-uk-households-can-gift-any-amount-tax-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/607717\/","title":{"rendered":"HMRC inheritance tax rules mean UK households can gift ‘any amount’ tax-free"},"content":{"rendered":"

Households could transfer substantial wealth to their loved ones without facing any inheritance tax liability, they have been reminded.\"Households\u00a0could<\/p>\n

Households\u00a0could transfer substantial wealth to their loved ones without facing any inheritance tax liability, they have been reminded.<\/p>\n

Inheritance tax rules have been explained – as UK households can gift “any amount” tax-free.<\/a> UK households could transfer substantial wealth to their loved ones without facing any inheritance tax liability, they have been reminded.<\/p>\n

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said:<\/a> “It’s important not to panic – the number of estates liable for inheritance tax has grown, and will continue to grow, but they will remain in the minority so do check if it will be an issue for your family.”<\/p>\n

From April 2027, any unspent defined contribution pension savings will be counted as part of an individual’s estate when calculating inheritance tax. Ms Morrissey noted: “As of this week, the clock is ticking down towards unused defined contribution pensions becoming part of your estate for inheritance tax purposes.”<\/p>\n

READ MORE 23 cars exempt from car tax charge after April rule change – full list<\/a><\/p>\n

Inheritance tax becomes payable when an estate exceeds \u00a3325,000 in value upon death, a threshold known as the nil rate band.<\/p>\n

Those passing their family home to direct descendants such as children or grandchildren can access an additional \u00a3175,000 allowance called the residence nil rate band.<\/p>\n

A single parent leaving their property to their child could therefore transfer up to \u00a3500,000 before any tax becomes due.<\/p>\n

Married couples and civil partners benefit from even more generous provisions, as they can pass unlimited assets to one another completely free of inheritance tax.<\/p>\n

Surviving spouses can also inherit their partner’s unused nil rate bands, potentially enabling them to pass on up to \u00a31 million without triggering a tax bill.<\/p>\n

Ms Morrissey said: “You can give away any amount, and it comes out of your estate for IHT purposes immediately. However, there are rules.<\/p>\n

“The gift needs to come from income, not capital. It needs to be made on a regular basis, and it must not affect your standard of living. Examples of this could include paying school fees for a grandchild or contributing to a Junior ISA.”<\/p>\n

Ms Morrissey warned that this disparity “can come as a nasty shock at an already difficult time.”<\/p>\n

Potentially Exempt Transfers permit individuals to give any sum to loved ones, with the gift falling outside the estate after seven years have passed.<\/p>\n

Each person also has a \u00a33,000 annual allowance for immediate tax-free gifts, plus the ability to give \u00a3250 to unlimited recipients who have not received other allowances.<\/p>\n

Wedding gifts attract separate allowances: \u00a35,000 for children, \u00a32,500 for grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and \u00a31,000 for others, provided the marriage proceeds.<\/p>\n

Ms Morrissey added: “None of us know how long we are going to live and you don’t want to be in a position where you are running out of money because you’ve given too much away.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Households could transfer substantial wealth to their loved ones without facing any inheritance tax liability, they have been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607718,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[45,49,48,133,28922,131,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-607717","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-finance","12":"tag-hmrc","13":"tag-personal-finance","14":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}