Inheritance Tax Planning

Figures Please provide inheritance tax planning services in Medway, Swale and the wider Kent area. We help individuals and families minimise the tax burden on estates passed to beneficiaries.

What is inheritance tax?

Inheritance tax is a tax applied to the estate, property, money, and possessions of someone who has died. Check out the current rates and thresholds

Planning for Inheritance Tax Involves:

• Evaluating the value of the estate by assessing the total value of a client’s assets, including property, investments, businesses, and other valuables.
• We review existing arrangements by examining current wills, any previous gifts, and ownership structures to determine their efficiency for IHT purposes
• We make full use of available nil rate bands and residence nil rate bands, ensuring assets are allocated in the most tax-efficient way. These thresholds can be shared between spouses or civil partners, sometimes doubling the available allowance
• Advise on the strategic use gifting of assets, either directly or through trusts. Properly timed gifts can be exempt from IHT if the donor survives for seven years afterward
• Setting up trusts can effectively remove assets from the taxable estate, safeguarding wealth for future generations while controlling how and when beneficiaries inherit assets. Types of trusts used may include discretionary, absolute, and life insurance trusts
• Where applicable, identify and leverage reliefs for business or agricultural property to significantly reduce IHT liabilities for qualifying assets
• Collaboration with solicitors to ensure wills are drafted or updated for tax efficiency and reflect the client’s wishes
• Regularly review of clients’ plans to adjust for changes in tax rules, asset values, or family circumstances