Giving money to adult children

evenasus

JamesU wrote: »

but would only be an issue if the deceased's sole assets are over the IHT threshold.
JamesU

Unfortunately, (IHT tax wise) they are.

JamesU

RayWolfe wrote: »

I don't know how else to put it. There is no such thing as a Gift Tax in the UK. None. Zilch. Nothing.
I can give a gift to anyone, it will not cost them a dime, a cent, a penny.
It may cost my estate, it may cost me. It will not cost the beneficiary.

"There IS NO TAX ON GIFTS in the UK."

Raywolfe, I did not post this statement, and it not entirely accurate as I have already tried to explain.

I don't know how else to put it. There is no such thing as a Gift Tax in the UK. None. Zilch. Nothing.
Nobody has said anything about a “gift tax” on this thread. For sure, there is no such thing as a “gift tax.” But there are potential IHT tax liabilities when a gift is given (PETS as MaggieCottage has correctly pointed out).

I can give a gift to anyone, it will not cost them a dime, a cent, a penny.
Agreed (provided we ignore CGT issues).

It may cost my estate, it may cost me. It will not cost the beneficiary.
I really like this rhyme and content! The facts are a bit misleading though:

“it may cost my estate.” Agreed: hence the discussion here.
“it may cost me.” Unlikely.
“it will not cost the beneficiary.” Ambiguous: Yes, not directly as it “costs the estate,” but the reduction in the estate can “reduce what is given to beneficiary.”

RayWolfe, the points we do not agree upon only become important when we are not here. So in present, I can compromise with no agreement on this, and when the points do become relevant, we will not be around to argue them anyway......Regards.

JamesU

RayWolfe

JamesU, far from wanting to be argumentative, I sometimes think that people hereabouts want more to display their knowledge and less to help people.
(Not you, of course!)
The OPs question was a simple one: "What then would be the position if I wanted to help a child buy a house and needed to give a much larger amount than £3,000 for a deposit? Would that be liable for tax"
The answer is essentially: "No"
Of course there may be additional factors and the second poster alluded to the IHT factor. You then added to that by mentioning spouses. I then, I hope, added clarity by using that famous phrase: "There IS NO TAX ON GIFTS in the UK."
The conversation then mushroomed into flights of esoteric fancy, the sort that people pay tax lawyers thousand for but most never need. So much so, that the poor OP later said: "Lets just hope I live another seven years; makes things a lot simpler all round" clearly fearing that he had opened a can of worms.
In fact he hadn't, the answer was simple and he needn't worry about what he wanted to do.
KISS
Ray

Arthurian

Continuing the point about the taxman being able to check up on past bank statements, etc, and asking about payments made, does this mean an executor must be able to check up and prove where every large payment went over the past 7 years? Including chasing up every time an investment matured, was paid into a bank account and went out again to start a new investment, which in turn might mature six months later - it would all have to be proved by a paper trail? :eek:

RayWolfe

He/she has to answer questions to the best of their ability. The question you raise about investments is not quite the same as answering questions about payments made to individuals.
We can all make the lives of our executors easier by keeping good records ... but, of course, for most people, it is not an issue. 4% (I think) of people are involved in IHT.

JamesU

RayWolfe wrote: »

"Lets just hope I live another seven years; makes things a lot simpler all round."

Thanks for the objective overview. Understood and taken on board.

JamesU

JamesU

evenasus wrote: »

Unfortunately, (IHT tax wise) they are.

Are you sure? Need to be very clear on sole assets (in your name) versus joint assets (e.g. held with married partner=spouse).

JamesU

evenasus

JamesU wrote: »

Are you sure? Need to be very clear on sole assets (in your name) versus joint assets (e.g. held with married partner=spouse).

JamesU

Unfortunately - Yes.

House value £400K plus similar savings.

The big IHT will be when the second of us dies.

RayWolfe

When you're both dead, the worrying will stop, I promise.

EdGasket

RayWolfe wrote: »

When you're both dead, the worrying will stop, I promise.

That may depend on where you go next, heavan, hell, or reincarnated as who knows what !