Tax on gifts before 7 yr period

dzug1

Potentially nothing - it depends on what assets you have apart from your house.

John_Pierpoint

As your estate, including the gift, is above the zero rate band for IHT, your personal representative will have to complete the IHT 400 family of forms.
The personal representative must be able to prove that your husband was your husband and when he died what became of this "nothing" - did his debts really exceed his assets?
Presumably you have his marriage and death certificates, the "nothing" might be more difficult to demonstrate if you avoided probate?
Any of the experts here got the solution?

John.

I know of a widow who, armed with joint accounts, was able to carry on almost as though nothing had happened when her husband died; it came as a bit of a shock to her daughter faced with getting a double probate.

localhero

hardpressed wrote:

Can I ask Local Hero as question? 3yrs ago I gifted the house I was living in to my daughter the value was £299000, I then moved into another house. When my husband died many years ago we were hard up and he had nothing to leave. The house I now own is worth about £300000. Can you tell me what the IHT liability would be if I popped my clogs.

Hi hardpressed, as a widow you will be entitled to the unused nil rate band of your late husband. So if he used none of his at the time, then you will effectively be entitled to double yours when you die. As things stand you will be entitled to leave 650K free of IHT.

You don't mention the value of any other assets, so assuming that your house is your main asset - then including the gift made 3 years ago you will be within your combined nil rate band allowance and will result in no IHT becoming payable.

If you do have other assets then everything changes as taper relief could come into the play as the gift of 299k exceeded the nil rate band allowance in the 2006-07 tax year (which was 285k incidentally).

Your executors will have to claim the unused nil rate band however, so if there was no Will keep as much paperwork as you can that will assist them. This would include his death certificate/marriage certificate etc.

Hope that helps.

hardpressed

Thanks Local Hero that's very helpful. I do have a copy of his tax return which his firm, fortunately they were accountants, filled in after his death, which hopefully will be acceptable to the revenue to show he had no assets.