Expert explains IHT exemptions
People thinking about saving for children may considered the impact of inheritance tax (IHT) on their legacies and the issue has received some attention recently, said the Birmingham Post.
Currently, all estates worth over £312,000 are subject to IHT which is charged at 40 per cent. A growing number of people are likely to be affected since house prices have increased, an expert has said.
Speaking to the newspaper, Ms Whitlock of the law firm Challinors said that when exemptions do occur they therefore attract media attention.
She went on to explain the death in active service provision, which excludes family of those killed due to war from paying IHT.
"As the death toll of our soldiers in Iraq reaches more than 100 and our surviving Second World War veterans continue to diminish in number, hundreds of families may be eligible for this exemption without even realising," she said.
She went on to say changes may be on the way to cover changing social patterns, as currently only married couples and civil partners are exempt from IHT.
Ms Whitlock concluded the law should be reviewed to account for a changing society.
