Inheritance Tax - Autumn Budget (Part 2)

Following on from the first of our three-part series, today we will be examining how the rumoured budget changes to IHT will impact our clients.

What this means for families :

• Estate planning uncertainty: Frozen thresholds and possible new rules could reshape how wealth is passed between generations. Families may need to reassess succession plans, especially around property and pensions. We are increasingly seeing clients who do not feel like (or behave like) millionaires, but because of the value of their properties in Leigh on Sea, they are automatically pushed over the inheritance tax threshold, despite not having the cash assets available in their estate to pay this tax bill when they die.
• We are increasingly encouraging clients who have inherited from a probate matter to consider estate planning at the point they inherit the wealth, rather than waiting until later in life to consider whether they want to make a gift of this inheritance. Utilising tools such as Deeds of Variation can be highly effective in Estate Planning and seem unlikely to be taken away in the Budget changes (although we won’t know for certain until Wednesday).

What this means for businesses:

• Business succession: Entrepreneurs and family-owned firms could face tighter rules on passing assets tax-efficiently, making professional advice more critical.
• Here at Giles Wilson, we offer bespoke business planning with holistic advice from us and your business accountants to ensure that you have a tax efficient planning place for the future.

Follow along for the final part of our series tomorrow for our thoughts on how the public and our clients might react to Wednesday’s budget changes.