Recently in Inheritance tax (death estate) Category
In ascertaining the value of the death estate for the purposes of inheritance tax (IHT), any liabilities or debts owed by the deceased at the date of death must be deducted.
Except. Yes, except. Many years ago, my personal tax lecturer taught me something very true: there is no such thing as a straightforward tax rule. There is always an exception or three. Remember that, and you won't go wrong. Always look for the 'except'.
Back to the topic: you can deduct from the death estate debts or liabilities owed by the deceased at the time of his death. So if the deceased had a death estate of, say, £200,000, and was owing £5,000 in bills, etc, the death estate is £200,000 - £5,000 = £195,000. However, this article is about a specific anti-avoidance measure aimed at catching out people who try to reduce the IHT payable by creating artificial debts, which can then be deducted from their death estate.
Except. Yes, except. Many years ago, my personal tax lecturer taught me something very true: there is no such thing as a straightforward tax rule. There is always an exception or three. Remember that, and you won't go wrong. Always look for the 'except'.
Back to the topic: you can deduct from the death estate debts or liabilities owed by the deceased at the time of his death. So if the deceased had a death estate of, say, £200,000, and was owing £5,000 in bills, etc, the death estate is £200,000 - £5,000 = £195,000. However, this article is about a specific anti-avoidance measure aimed at catching out people who try to reduce the IHT payable by creating artificial debts, which can then be deducted from their death estate.
Continue reading Death estate - disallowed debts.
