‘Sinful’ Britons call for inheritance tax to be axed as families lose thousands
Marine Le Pen pledges to ‘drastically’ reduce inheritance taxes
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Families are missing out on an average of £70,000 because they don’t know how to talk about inheritance planning, according to latest figures. The news has caused fury with Express.co.uk readers saying it’s about time the “death tax” was abolished altogether.
Commonly referred to as the “death tax”, Inheritance Tax is paid on someone’s estate after they die.
The threshold which people have to pay 40 percent tax to HMRC is usually £325,000, although there are some exceptions.
Britons have been taking to Express.co.uk to vent their anger at the tax, claiming it should be “outlawed” because people have already paid tax on their income.
The threshold has been frozen until 2026 despite the fact that property prices have soared, pushing many people into the IHT bracket.
It’s caused anger among Express.co.uk readers, with one reader, @UKconcernedcitizen, writing: “Yes you pay taxes all your life!
“From the amount left over you struggle to make improvements and when you die another 40 percent goes out in tax!”
Another reader @Expertskier said: “Disgusting that ANY tax is payable on income which has already been taxed to the hilt.
“We’ll spend every penny of ours so the Government gets NOWT.”
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Reader @Gullbully said: “The government should abolish this sinful tax.
“They will suffer in hell because of their claims on wealth already taxed.
Meanwhile, @Spotthecat remarked that using one’s house to pay for care is “much worse” than inheritance tax.
“That robs far more families of an inheritance than inheritance tax.”
@WhatsYours penned: “Upping the threshold or scrapping IHT altogether would be a vote winner.”
Meanwhile, Britons are spending more than £100,000 on court cases because people are failing to make their wishes clear when they are alive.
Financial expert Carla Morris told Express.co.uk it shows that people need to talk about inheritance planning, as well as ensure they make use of all the tax breaks available to them.
She explained: “As a lot of older wills hold assets in trust, you could lose out if your will is not updated.
“As an example, the maximum available residence nil-rate band is £175,000 which if utilised in full it could reduce an IHT bill by £70,000.”
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Brewin Dolphin suggests Britons consider the following options:
• Each year people can give away £3,000 which will not be subject to IHT
• Britons can give £250 to any number of people each year (as long as they haven’t used another exemption on the same person)
• Parents can give £5,000 to each of their children as a wedding gift. Grandparents can give £2,500 and anyone else £1,000.
• If a gift is regular, comes out of your income and does not affect a person’s standard of living, any amount of money can be given away and ignored for IHT.
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