Inheritance tax and related manuals

HMRC manuals

HM Revenue and Customs produce a number of manuals for their staff. The guidance contained in this manuals is not comprehensive nor will it provide a definitive answer in every case.

• Inheritance Tax Manual

Read our technical articles

The Finance Act 2013 introduced a change which limits the deductibility of debts in certain circumstances.  Here we explain the changes.

• Deductibility of debts for Inheritance Tax

On the 6 April 2015 the residence nil-rate band (RNRB) was introduced. This is an additional threshold for inheritance tax (IHT) planning above the current £325,000 threshold. Here we explain how this works.

• Residence nil-rate band part 1
• Residence nil-rate band part 2

Gifts made to anyone from your client’s estate are exempt from inheritance tax provided that they survive for a period of 7 years from the date the gift is made. Here we explain how this works.

• What is a gift inter vivos policy and when should it be used?

The 'Rysaffe principle' is a way of using multiple trusts to reduce the Inheritance Tax payable as each trust has its own nil rate band. Here we explain how.

• The Rysaffe Principle

In July 2019 the Office of Tax Simplification published its second report on the simplification of inheritance tax. This report sets out a number of recommendations for 'a more coherent and understandable structure of the tax'. Here's our summary of the report.

• OTS simplification of Inheritance tax