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Calculating share prices for IHT

I am in the process of applying for probate on behalf of my mother and it is a major headache! They want to know the value of all my fathers shares on the day after he died! Does anyone know where to look to find out the share prices on that day? Stocks and shares and tax are alien to me!:eek:

Comments

  • marvin
    marvin Posts: 2,187 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
    Each individual company should have historical share prices as do http://uk.finance.yahoo.com and other sites.
    I started with nothing and I am proud to say I still have most of it left.
  • John_Pierpoint
    John_Pierpoint Posts: 8,401 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    edited 1 November 2011 at 5:25PM
    You will also find references to "1/4 up".

    Does this estate have a cuckoo-in-the-nest beneficiary. I am talking about HMRC looking for an InHeritance Tax (IHT) charge that has to be paid before anything else happens?

    Roughly what are these shares worth? If we are talking about £1000 in total, HMRC will probably accept the closing mid price as published in the FT the following morning; OK that may cost slightly more than the official "1/4 up" method in IHT but cheaper than paying for an official valuation. In the old days (ie 10 years ago) the "1/4 up" figures were available in your county library, but probably not now.

    Be aware that if someone dies at the weekend you can choose Friday or Monday, which can be significant in the current casino market.

    What do you intend to do with the shares?

    The estate of the late " Mr Dog " had 10 beneficiaries, so as executor I needed to sell the shares. If you sell them all, you can substitute the actual sale price, if that reduces your IHT charge. (as " Mr Dog " died in the 2009/2010 period shares were falling in value so I got an IHT refund - you can claim it as an interim settlement or let it all come out in the final wash).

    Alternatively if there is no IHT and you intend to split them with (say) your sibling, you want the highest possible valuation, as death restarts the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) calculation.;)

    You can even play games of selling some shares as executor and some after they have been swapped into the name of a beneficiary - useful if there is an excess of CGT to be spread against more than one nil allowance.pig_flies.gif

    These three "Which?" books (You must have these up to date ones - naughty Amazon is still prepared to sell you old stock) cover 99% of eventualities in "normal" estates.

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1844900703/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2/280-9248769-1143450?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_r=0M2FVVYM9P7YGYXE7J2D&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_i=1844900320

    You could have bought all three for £20 three months ago, but inflation is only 5%:mad:
  • thenudeone
    thenudeone Posts: 4,462 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/inheritancetax/how-to-value-estate/shares.htm

    The stock exchange used to publish a printed book of closing prices every day precisely for this purpose, and probably still do, although you may be able to get it online now.

    Remember that if the shares have fallen in value since the death, then as long as the executors sell them within a certain period (12 mths) then IHT can be re-calculated based on the the lower sale price instead of the value at the date of death, by using form IHT35. The details are at the bottom of the link.
    We need the earth for food, water, and shelter.
    The earth needs us for nothing.
    The earth does not belong to us.
    We belong to the Earth
  • John_Pierpoint
    John_Pierpoint Posts: 8,401 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    edited 2 November 2011 at 6:41PM
    Be aware that if someone dies at the weekend you can choose Friday or Monday, which can be significant in the current casino market.

    I've checked this again and you can choose Friday or Monday for each individual share and use the one that works best for you.
    I had a spot of difficulty with some unit trust managers who wanted to decide for me which price I used (when I asked for both).

    In 2004 I was able to use the Stock Exchange Daily List in the county library. But in 2009 I was not able to find anyone to give me a free valuation. (As I had to sell anyway I just used the FT and substituted the fallen price when I sold; getting back a bit of IHT.)
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