Dawn Joughin: Beware - HMRC inheritance tax probes are on the rise

Residence relief a minefield

clock • 3 min read

With thousands of new IHT investigations being opened by HMRC in the most recent tax year alone, Dawn Joughin highlights areas where lawyers and financial advisers need to be extra vigilant on behalf of their clients

Over its 30-year history in the UK, inheritance tax (IHT) has never been straightforward. Since a new allowance for family homes was introduced in April 2017, however, thousands of new IHT investigations were opened by HMRC in the 2018/19 tax year, according to a freedom of information request by wealth management group Quilter. In total, there were 5,537 investigations among the 22,000 estates that were liable for IHT in that period - a figure that equates to nearly 25% of the total. The figures is some 8% from 5,354 in 2016/17, the previous tax year. Despite only 5% of estates being...

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