“Great Wealth Transfer” brings tax consequences

As much as £1 trillion may be handed from older to younger generations during the 2020s alone, with the so-called “Great Wealth Transfer” likely to have considerable tax implications.

Last year, for example, HMRC collected a record-breaking £7.5bn in Inheritance Tax (IHT). The Revenue has since secured an additional £4.6bn in IHT receipts between January and July this year.

Industry experts now suggest IHT reforms are likely to feature in the forthcoming Budget, scheduled for 30 October.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Nimesh Shah, chief executive of accountants Blick Rothenberg, said: “The problem the government has is actually that inheritance tax brings in so little.”

He added that Chancellor Rachel Reeves may be planning to get more people paying the tax, which currently only affects around 4 per cent of the population. She may also be looking to increase what each estate pays, potentially by reducing existing allowances and reliefs, such as those relating to business and agricultural properties.

“People are panicked in particular that the seven-year rule might go,” Shah added, referring to current rules that a gift can be completely tax-free if someone lives for seven years after giving it.

Shah told The FT he had recently seen an increase in clients accelerating plans to gift money to their descendants; keen to start the seven-year clock ticking under the current regime prior to any changes the Budget might bring.

Other industry insiders underline the need for families to make plans and define their goals, regardless of what happens in October.

This may not simply involve being aware of IHT liability, said Katherine Waller, co-founder of wealth management specialist Six Degrees.

“When I first started in the industry, it was typical for parents to ask how they could maximise what they passed on to their kids. Nowadays they are more likely to ask us how they can put limits on what they inherit.”

This, Waller added, links to concerns both about inheritances actively demotivating children and concerns about the consequences of divorce.