Estate Planning / IHT

Yesterday, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt presented his second Autumn Statement, but with a very different tone to the gloomy announcements made this time last year. The Chancellor announced initiatives with a massive focus on pushing growth in the economy. The main question you’ll all no doubt have is… “how does it affect me?”, let’s take a look…

Trusts are often overlooked by many as being too complicated or something only for the rich, whilst the former may be partially true the latter definitely is not. With proper professional advice the benefits of trusts can be demystified, and both the tax and practical benefits realised.

We all think it won’t happen to us, but unfortunately sometimes people die while they are still running their business. We’ve seen some horror stories of what happens when an untimely death occurs with no preparations in place. In this Hallowe’en themed blog we examine what could go wrong and how it could be fixed.

Inheritance tax is a burden faced by an increasing number of estate beneficiaries, but rumour has it the government plan to abolish it ahead of next year’s General Election. We consider whether this is likely to happen.

Inheritance tax is a burden faced by an increasing number of estate beneficiaries, and it can be difficult to do anything about it when the only valuable asset is the family home. We explore what can be done to reduce the tax liability in this scenario.

Inheritance tax is a burden faced by an increasing number of estate beneficiaries, but using trusts as part of an overall tax planning strategy can help reduce the tax payable.

Inheritance tax is a burden faced by an increasing number of estate beneficiaries, but it is possible to reduce the tax liability or wipe it out altogether by making shrewd investments.

Inheritance tax is a burden faced by an increasing number of estate beneficiaries, but there are simple steps that can be taken to reduce the tax liability or wipe it out altogether.

How to comply with tax reporting requirements during an estate administration period and save tax.

Keep reading to find out what Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s “Back to Work” Budget means for you. Is 2023 a year of opportunity?

A new Austen-style literary classic? Not quite a romantic novel, but this Valentine’s Day when your significant other asks where their flowers are, you can reply…”I’ve got you the gift of tax savings!”

Property investors often fail to realise that they have a duty to register under CIS if they carry out certain activities. Failure to register could be costly as it is likely to result in significant penalties being levied for non-compliance.

What do you do if your subcontractor or professional disagrees with your treatment of their income under CIS? You have basically three actions you can take.

If you carry out any sort of building works on a property and engage labour you have to be wary of the rules under the construction industry scheme where tax has to be potentially stopped on the labour element of the service provided. Professionals are often consider exempt from CIS- but is this right? The answer unsurprisingly is not always!

During our more than 30 years trading as Chartered Accountants and Business and Tax advisers we have frequently been asked whether we could provide financial advice of one sort or another. Previously the response has been no, but we built up a strong network of third-party financial advisors who have helped our clients with all kinds of financial advice such as investments, pensions, protection and mortgages. In recent times, however, we have seen the number of independent financial advisors (financial advisors who go to the whole market rather than a few selected providers) decline and we now find that most financial advisors are tied.

In a recent blog we looked at using a company to hold property investments, however an alternative (and sometimes overlooked) vehicle for ownership of all family investments, property or otherwise, is through a trust structure.

We deal with many affluent clients and it is interesting how attitudes to inheritance tax can vary significantly, even between people with similar levels of wealth. Some say that they have paid taxes all their lives – on their income, asset sales, property purchases – and begrudge paying the treasury even one more pound in inheritance tax when they pass. Others feel that it will be someone else’s problem, so why should they worry. Most people are somewhere in the middle.

UK and non-UK trusts arrangements, including some that most may not understand to be trusts (such as bank accounts and bare trusts held for minors), now require registration with HMRC. To avoid penalties many current and ceased trusts now need to be registered and all registered trusts will need to submit annual declarations to confirm all details are up to date. Changes to details of trustees and beneficiaries require updates to be made within 90 days.

When your loved ones are seriously ill understandably the last thing you want to think about is anything to do with finances. However it is worthwhile knowing that in cases where a spouse or civil partner is terminally ill there could be an opportunity to save large amounts of tax by passing property in a tax efficient manner.

When your loved ones are seriously ill understandably the last thing you want to think about is anything to do with finances. However it is worthwhile knowing that in cases where a spouse or civil partner is terminally ill there could be an opportunity to save large amounts of tax by passing property in a tax efficient manner.

We do wonder sometimes if the people being appointed as executors actually know what they’re signing up for, so we thought it might be useful to summarise an executor’s duties – both for those who are currently writing their wills and for those who are asked to take on the role.

Paying tax is an unfortunate fact of life, but it certainly seems like an unfair one when it comes to Inheritance Tax. After all, we’ve spent our lives paying taxes and have probably already paid them on the value of our estate, so why pay again?

This is the second in a two part series of blogs on wealth creation. In the first blog I looked at how wealth is perceived in society and how you can measure your own wealth. In this blog I will share with you my top ten tips on how to create and maintain your own wealth.

This is the first of a two part series of blogs on the topic of wealth creation. In this first blog I will be looking at how wealth is perceived in society and how you can measure your own wealth.

Probate is often needed to get access to the deceased’s assets and it can be a slow and painful process. We examine when it is necessary and how long each part of the task may take.

No-one likes paying tax, but it’s a fact of life. But when it comes to inheritance tax, it seems doubly unfair. After all you’ve probably already been taxed on a lot of the value in your estate, why should you pay tax again? Well we’re committed to reducing the inheritance tax burden of our clients....

We're often asked whether to purchase a buy to let property personally or via a limited company. Read our detailed advice to help you understand the up-and down-sides of each option. Everyone’s circumstances are different; the pros and cons must be weighed up on a case by case basis.

HMRC really seem to have had it in for landlords in recent years. For some it will be worthwhile to restructure their affairs in order to minimise the impact of recent legislation changes.

Friend & Grant have experience tackling the taxation challenges of a variety of foreign savings, investment, & retirement products, such as offshore funds; we can help advise you on what income needs to be reported, the available allowances, and can help formulate a tax-efficient repatriation plan.

You don’t have to be a client to access our Estate Planning for Your Parents service. Our clients agree that this type of forward planning is very tax efficient and helps them to understand the estate that they may have to administer when their parents die.

You may have spotted in the press that the government has announced that probate fees will be changing from April 2019. You may recall there were similar, but even more drastic, proposals a couple of years ago but they were shelved when the snap election was announced in spring 2017.

From April 2017 HMRC began phasing in the ‘residence nil rate band’ which could mean large savings on inheritance tax bills for future generations. From 6 April 2020 it’s worth £70,000 per estate – so a whopping £140,000 of tax ready to be saved per couple. However, there are potential stumbling blocks as with most...