IHT question

skillboy

I am British and my wife is Thai.

Recently my wife sold a property in Thailand and has transferred £70,000 to my UK bank account. This is so that the money can be invested long term in equity funds through my Hargreaves Lansdown share account (which is in my name only).

My UK assets are well over £325,000 which I believe is the amount I can give away upon my death and for my dependents not incur UK IHT.

Given that my estate is based on my assets minus any liabilities (debts), would it make sense for my wife to "loan" me the £70,000 so that it will be considered a debt (for IHT purposes) and thus this amount will be reduced from my estate when I die as she will have to be paid it back before any UK IHT calculations are made?

Thoughts?

Keep_pedalling

Won’t make any difference, anything left to a spouse is IHT exempt.

Why does this even have to go in your name, why can’t she have hr own invest account?

skillboy

My wife is Thai nationality and we spend our time primarily in Thailand.

I thought that I can only leave up to £475,000 (£325k + £150k for primary residence) in UK assets free of IHT and that anything over is taxed at 40%?

Keep_pedalling

skillboy wrote: »

My wife is Thai nationality and we spend our time primarily in Thailand.

I thought that I can only leave up to £475,000 (£325k + £150k for primary residence) in UK assets free of IHT and that anything over is taxed at 40%?

Not if you leave it to your wife.

getmore4less

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Not if you leave it to your wife.

Not always, you have to be careful with domicile.

My wife is Thai nationality and we spend our time primarily in Thailand.

Where is she domiciled?

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm11033

Sibbers123

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Not if you leave it to your wife.

Not as simple as this when your wife is non-domiciled.

With the amount at stake, it is always worth getting professional advice when it comes to IHT, tailored to your circumstances and goals.