The Chancellor announced that legislation will be introduced in the Finance Bill 2008 to allow a claim to be made to transfer any unused inheritance tax (IHT) nil rate band on a person’s death to the estate of their surviving spouse or civil partner who dies on or after 9th October 2007. This will enable tax savings to be achieved where the IHT nil rate band of the first deceased spouse or civil partner was not fully used in calculating the IHT liability of their estate. The amount that can be transferred is based on the percentage of the unused allowance at the time of the first death as applied to the nil rate band at the time of the second death.

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