Member Article

Yorkshire & Humber pays £112 million inheritance tax bill

Estates in Yorkshire and the Humber paid inheritance tax bills of £140,000 on average in 2010-2011, new figures from the HMRC reveal.

And as the economy continues to recover, regional estates will be hit harder, warns York solicitor Eleanor Milner.

An analysis of the new figures, the latest publicly available regional data on tax receipts, shows that in 2010-2011 inheritance tax was paid on 800 estates in Yorkshire and the Humber with a total bill of £112 million.

Since then the inheritance tax take in the UK generally has steadily increased and in 2012-2013 totalled some £3.1bn – a rise of 15% on 2010-2011.

The Inheritance Tax threshold is currently set at £325,000 per person (and is not set to rise until at least 2019), or £650,000 per married couple.

Above that limit, estates are taxed at 40%. A lower tax rate of 36% is available where 10% of a taxable estate is donated to charity; however wills need to be carefully drafted to ensure this 10% limit is met.

Eleanor Milner, assistant solicitor and inheritance tax specialist at Langleys in York, commented: “These latest figures demonstrate the significant amount of inheritance tax being paid by estates across the Yorkshire and Humber region.

“This will only increase as inheritance tax becomes more relevant to more people with the recovery in the economy and assets increasing in value.

“It is important to regularly review the value of assets as it is often surprising how quickly the value of assets can add up and creep closer to the Inheritance Tax limit.

“Careful tax planning can help individuals reduce their inheritance tax bill legitimately and professional advice should always be sought where estates are liable for inheritance tax.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .