The great tax muddle - and your precious family home It's complex and it's flawed, but the new 'family home allowance' can help cut your inheritance tax bill. By Teresa Hunter

• Published in: Daily telegraph (London, England : 1969)
• Main Author: Hunter, Teresa
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: London (UK) Daily Telegraph 25.02.2017
• Subjects: Beneficiaries; Estate planning; Estate taxes; Families & family life; Inheritance taxes; Wealth; Wills
• ISSN: 0307-1235

From April 5, each individual can claim an additional allowance of Pounds 100,000 to offset the sale of a family home on death, on top of their existing Pounds 325,000 inheritance tax exemption.[...]that a larger chunk of the family home can be passed on taxfree, advisers also recommend taking a hard look at the most tax-effective ways to take income in retirement when seniors wish to pass on as much wealth as possible to the next generation.Danny Cox, a chartered financial planner at Hargreaves Lansdown, the investment firm, said: "If the wife dies first and leaves everything to her husband, he can currently give away up to Pounds 650,000 tax-free."From April a new allowance, the residence nil-rate band (RNRB), will permit the further reduction of IHT due on the sale of a family home.Estates worth more than Pounds 2m will see the new inheritance tax break clawed back, losing Pounds 1 of the allowance for every Pounds 2 in extra wealth.[...]a husband might die with a net estate of property and investments worth Pounds 1m and leave everything to his spouse tax free.Protecting your wealth Mr Cox said now was a good time to take stock of all financial planning to protect assets from tax.Credit: By Teresa Hunter Caption: Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire was given to the state in lieu of inheritance tax; The Duke of Devonshire, who gave away Hardwick Hall, marries Deborah Mitford; Gordon Brown, the former chancellor, relaxed IHT rules