by johnireland | Tax Talk
There is an Inheritance Tax exemption that works immediately, with no seven-year wait and no cap: gifts made from normal expenditure out of income. To qualify, a gift must come from income (not capital), be regular or habitual, and leave you able to maintain your...
by johnireland | Tax Talk
Business Property Relief used to be unlimited. Qualifying business assets passed free of Inheritance Tax whatever they were worth, which is why so many family firms survived the death of their founder intact. Since 6 April 2026, that is no longer the position. The...
by johnireland | Tax Talk
Business Asset Disposal Relief lowers the capital gains tax rate on qualifying business sales, up to a £1m lifetime limit per person. The rate has risen twice recently: 10% up to 5 April 2025, 14% from 6 April 2025, and 18% from 6 April 2026. To qualify, you generally...
by johnireland | Tax Talk
Thinking about gifting property to your children while you’re alive? It’s not as simple as signing over the deeds and waiting seven years. This week’s article unpacks the traps: how the seven-year rule and taper relief actually work, why continuing...
by johnireland | Tax Talk
HMRC has recovered an extra £1.36 billion from inheritance tax investigations over the past five years, while IHT receipts hit a record £8.5 billion. The proportion of UK deaths triggering an IHT bill is now the highest in almost twenty years. The new battleground is...
by johnireland | Tax Talk
If you earn between £100,000 and £125,140, you are paying an effective tax rate of 60% on that income — not the 40% you might expect. For every £2 you earn above £100,000, you lose £1 of your tax-free personal allowance. Combined with the 40% higher rate, this creates...
