To think post covid19 would be a good time to completely overhaul inheritance tax?

[DogsDinner]

I know a couple of only children who are likely to inherit the best part of £750,000. Other families where the kids will inherit hundreds of thousands each.

Not a penny tax will be paid on this money.

I also have friends who will inherit nothing, indeed will probably have to scrape together the money to pay for their parents’ funerals, and in turn are unlikely to be able to leave much to their children.

AIBU to think that people who have probably already had a very good start in life, should not then go on to be further advantaged by inheriting such staggering sums tax free?

I’m not a socialist, and I do think parents should be able to leave their children something, but surely it should at least be taxed?

It honestly seems to me to be the obvious place to start raising money as we try to repair the damage to the economy.

Death duty/inheritance tax should be completely abolished. It's revolting that I can save like crazy for my DC and the government can take a huge (40%) chunk in tax.

If you don't have inherited wealth, work harder to make it for the next generation

Op why won’t any tax be paid on these inheritances?

If you don't have inherited wealth, work harder to make it for the next generation

Because it's that simple.

@StylishMummy oh be quiet with that shit attitude. Plenty of low paid people work hard and can't afford to save.

Life’s a lottery. Some people win, some don’t.

Not a penny tax will be paid on this money.

What are you on about, yes it will

Gen X, Y and Z have had a right shit show of it.
Leave the inheritance alone.

How about we tax the bollocks out of assets already held by those aged over 55, right now?

No? Thought not.

We've paid for enough, we aren't paying for this too. Get those hands into those pockets, ours are empty.

Not a penny tax will be paid on this money.

40% on anything over £325000

Isn’t the IHT threshold £325k? So those two only children you know will pay 40% on anything over that.
So they’ll each be paying around £140k in IHT.

Also you make too many generalisations. How do you know that those with rich parents haven’t had an utterly rotten start in life? And those that have had the best start in life have squandered every opportunity they were given and ended up penniless?

IHT, broadly speaking, is pretty fair as it is in my opinion.

It’s £750k for a couple. Money from the first to die is tax free when inherited by their spouse.

If you don't have inherited wealth, work harder to make it for the next generation

Maybe your children could ‘work hard’ and create their own wealth...

The total IHT nil rate threshold for a married couple leaving assets including property to children is now £1 million.

Parents can leave up to £1,000,000 tax free to their children or grandchildren provided certain conditions are met, mainly that some of the money comes from the family home.

And suggestions that people who haven't inherited wealth should just 'work hard' and it will magically appear are a load of cock. Plenty work hard and don't accumulate wealth.

Well if a couple were each leaving £375,000 to their children, the first £325,000 each left would be free of inheritance tax but the last £50,000 each left would be taxed at 40%. I think that's right. So on £750,000, as long as it was left by both parents equally, £40,000 inheritance tax would be paid.

Oh, just seen the last posts. I didn't know it was a million now. Wow!

There's no tax on the first £325k, and that counts for each parent if the first one to die leaves that amount (or more) to the surviving parent. So a child can receive £650k in total plus 2 x £175k if a property that they lived in was bequeathed, because there's a nil rate band on the first £175k of the value of the primary residence.

So £650k + £350k can be inherited without any IHT liability.

IHT is due a mahoosive shake up and it's on its way.

But I really wouldn't worry about your mates inheriting 760k. I'm way more incensed by by people who buy agricultural land to avoid IHT. Huge huge issue with massive.

I'm not rich but I've hard and own a small property over the IHT threshold. Ive already paid tax on my earnings and stamp duty on my house. Should I die, it gives me comfort to know my children will still have a home. And why shouldnt they benefit from my hard work? Why should tax be paid on this money twice?

The very rich will always find sophisticated ways to dodge tax, it's ordinary families like mine who are potentially punished by IHT.

Why don't we do away with personal property OP? That would really smooth things about.

Or are you one of these distributionists who wants to enjoys their comfort and only "share" when you're gone?

Of course you are most welcome to sell up and donate now. What would Jesus do?

I think the whole system of capital gains, including IHT, needs an overhaul. I still cannot understand why house price gains aren't taxed in some way. It concerns me that we are possibly returning to a stage where wealth is inherited and assets remain in the same hands. Not to mention the difficulty for people in moving around the country, particularly from north to south.

There will be no shake up while we have a Tory government. Only about 5% of estates pay it anyway.

Er, no - we don’t live in a communist society, and thank fuck for that!

Tax is still paid at 40% over the threshold, so the State still collects plenty of blood money.

What do you think would be fairer? How many times is it fair for the government to tax the same amount or asset?

I do see your point tbh. It does seem massively unfair, and obviously those families with the means seek advice early on to minimise any tax exposure.

But equally, life isn't fair, in so many ways. This is just one of them.