Inheritance Tax help and advice wanted

mark1e

Help wanted please - am asking on behalf of my elderly widowed mother. My father died in 1977 leaving everything to my mother under a "mirror" will where whoever died first left their estate to the other. No inheritance tax was involved then. Under new rules can my mother use my father's portion of allowances instead of just hers when she dies?? Advice would be more than welcome.

dzug1

Yes she can - none of his allowance was used then so 100% of it (at the rate current at the date of her death) can be claimed.

ceeforcat

Maybe I have picked this up wrong but I took it that the op meant that no IHT was payable - i.e. under the threshold at the time.

Basically, if your father died and used, say, one third of his allowance at the rates applicable at his death, two thirds of the allowance AT THE CURRENT RATE is available against your mother's estate.

If I am wrong, I do apologise.

mark1e

As far as i can see in 1977 it was called capital transfer tax and had a threshold of £15,000 but as i understand it - between spouses it was exempt

John_Pierpoint

You need to be able to prove it.
You have to make a full IHT400 self assessment and then produce your rabbit out of a hat on this form:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/inheritancetax/iht402.pdf

You will notice that there are iff's and but's for first deaths prior to 1986 and the form is somewhat disingenuous when referring back to Death Duties.