New research has reached the (perhaps unsurprising) conclusion that London and the South East of England pay more inheritance tax than the rest of the country combined.
The research carried out by Prudential found that estates in these two regions accounted for £1.3bn of inheritance tax receipts in the 2010/11 tax year; the most recent tax year during which figures are available for analysis.
This represents over half of all inheritance tax paid across the UK, despite the fact that only 42% of taxable estates (around 6,500 estates in total) were located in London or the South East.
If you live in the South East, the average inheritance tax liability is an eye-watering £174,000.
Only liable estates in London pay a higher average IHT bill, at £234,000. The average estate liable for inheritance tax in Wales paid a still considerable average tax bill of £126,000.
These figures reveal that a few people pay an awful lot of inheritance tax.
Because inheritance tax can often be mitigated through sensible and practical planning steps, the research suggests that many are failing to engage with Financial Planning at a sufficiently early stage in their lives.
We urge all those with estates valued above the £325,000 nil rate band for inheritance tax to pick up the phone and speak to us about their estate planning options.
Planning to reduce inheritance tax is often a trade-off between giving up control of assets and effectiveness of the planning steps, but we always work with our clients to understand what is most important about their wealth before working out which planning methods are best suited.
Do get in touch to find out more and to arrange an initial meeting, which is at our expense and with no obligation.
