Inheritance tax in the United Kingdom

[23] For deaths occurring after 5 April 2012, the tax is assessed at 36%, where at least 10% of a specified baseline amount of the estate has been bequeathed as charitable gifts.[26] There are several options available for estates to be able to achieve that threshold, such as having the will specifying relevant gifts in terms of percentages of assets, or successors executing a deed of variation to attain the desired result.[27] The Chancellor of the Exchequer's Autumn Statement on 9 October 2007[28] announced that with immediate effect inheritance tax allowances (often referred to as the nil-rate band) were to be transferable between married couples and between civil partners.In a judgement following an unsuccessful appeal to a 2006 decision by the European Court of Human Rights,[29] it was held that the above does not apply to siblings living together.It is worth noting that as the Government seeks not to profit from the death of those who (a) gave their lives in military service, or (b) died from the results of a wound, injury, or disease associated with that military service, that the estates of such servicemen and women are exempt, totally, from any Inheritance Tax regardless of the value of the estate even if it amounts to millions of pounds as long as (a) or (b) apply....and that that exemption is then transferable to the serviceman's or servicewoman's widow or widower.In the summer budget of 2015 a new measure was outlined to reduce the burden of IHT for some estates by providing additional tax-free allowances in cases where the family home passed to direct descendants.[41] In 2016 published letters and a prominent article in The Guardian by a leading accountant supported by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn criticised the tax-exempt arrangements of many largest landowners and the most capital-endowed.The unpublished size of the late Duke's death estate was thought to be comparable to the valuation of the family-related landholdings of £9 billion.Critics claim inheritance tax impacts more on the living standards of the middle class and less on plutocrats and the super rich.
Inheritance tax thresholds and party responsible for each increase. Note the correlation with average house price (grey).
Taxation in the United KingdomHM TreasuryHM Revenue and CustomsNational InsuranceHealth and Social Care LevyCorporation taxCapital gains taxMotoring taxesInheritance taxStamp DutyStamp Duty Reserve TaxStamp Duty Land TaxAnnual Tax on Enveloped DwellingsInsurance Premium TaxAir Passenger DutyPetroleum Revenue TaxAggregates LevyBingo DutyClimate Change LevyLandfill taxMachine Games DutyTobacco DutyVehicle Excise DutyRevenue ScotlandScottish income taxLand and Buildings Transaction TaxScottish Landfill TaxAir Departure TaxTaxation in WalesWelsh Revenue AuthorityWelsh Rates of Income TaxLand Transaction TaxLandfill Disposals TaxCouncil TaxDomestic rates in Northern IrelandBusiness rates in EnglandBusiness rates in WalesBusiness rates in ScotlandBusiness rates in Northern IrelandParliament of the United KingdomLong titleCitationRoyal assentlegislation.gov.ukUnited Kingdomtransfer taxTax FoundationHistory of inheritance taxes in the United Kingdominheritance16 & 17 Vict.probateconsanguinitysettlementsarm's lengthThatcher yearsnil rate bandlegitimFinance Act 2015deed of variationcivil partnerswidowswidowersEuropean Court of Human Rightslineal descendantsFinance Act 2004income taxpre-owned asset taxQueen Elizabeth The Queen MotherThe GuardianJeremy Corbyncapitaldiscretionary trustsappointed or advanced (paid or part-paid) by trustbona fideGerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminstermiddle classplutocratssuper richSociety of Trust and Estate PractitionersCharles IIIAsset-based egalitarianismDisclaimer of interestHistory of the English fiscal systemQuick succession reliefScottish WidowsThe GazetteThe National Archives