Inheritance Tax Planning
For individuals and families: estate planning, trusts, gifting strategies, Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief. At IB&Co, we help individuals and families preserve wealth for future generations.
Making sure your money goes to the people you care about
Inheritance Tax (IHT) planning is really about making sure your money goes to the people you care about. These conversations can feel uncomfortable. But many people find IHT planning empowering rather than morbid once they see the impact.
This area requires a personalised review of your entire estate. We can model your current IHT position and outline a planning strategy, including a gifting strategy as part of your overall IHT planning. Every family is different, so we start with what you own, who you want to benefit and what you want to achieve.
KEY PLANNING AREAS
Key planning strategies we advise on:
- Gifting: annual and small gifts exemptions, gifts on marriage, Potentially Exempt Transfers (PETs) and regular gifts out of surplus income
- Business Property Relief (BPR) on qualifying business assets
- Agricultural Property Relief (APR) on agricultural property occupied for farming purposes
- Main residence and the Residence Nil-Rate Band (RNRB): planning to ensure the full allowance is preserved, including the downsizing addition
- Trusts: discretionary trusts, bare trusts and interest-in-possession trusts as vehicles for IHT-efficient wealth transfer, and loan trusts and discounted gift trusts for those who still need income
- Will planning alignment: reviewing your will to ensure it is structured in an IHT-efficient way
Since 6 April 2026, full Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief has been limited to a set amount of qualifying property per person, with relief at a reduced rate above that. Unused allowance can pass to a surviving spouse or civil partner. Families who own farms, trading businesses or qualifying shares may now face an inheritance tax cost they did not have before, so existing plans and wills are worth reviewing.
Who it's for
Inheritance tax planning is for individuals and families who want to understand their position and plan ahead. It may be particularly relevant if you:
- Want to pass on wealth to family, during your lifetime or on death
- Own a trading business, qualifying shares or farmland
- Own your main residence and want to understand the residence nil-rate band
- Are considering gifts or trusts
- Have lived in the UK for a long time, have recently left, or have significant overseas assets
- Have not reviewed your will alongside your wider planning
What you get
Depending on the scope we agree after your first call, you can expect:
- Identification of the key tax areas for your circumstances
- An initial assessment of risks and planning opportunities
- Priority recommendations and suggested next steps
- Where a detailed review is agreed, structured analysis, professional recommendations and an implementation plan
- Where required, ongoing planning and advisory support
Gifting and the 7-Year Rule
One of the most misunderstood areas of IHT is the 7-year rule. When you make a gift to another person (a Potentially Exempt Transfer or PET), it falls outside your estate if you survive for 7 years after making it, provided you do not keep any benefit from it. Gifts into most trusts are treated differently.
If you die within 7 years, the gift may be taxed, and taper relief can reduce the tax on gifts made between 3 and 7 years before death. Taper relief only helps where the gifts made in the 7 years before death add up to more than the nil-rate band.
A Proactive Approach
The families who benefit most from IHT planning are the ones who started early, precisely because they had the time to implement strategies that require years to take full effect, like the 7-year gifting rule or trust arrangements.
From 6 April 2025, inheritance tax moved from a domicile-based test to one based on long-term UK residence. Whether your overseas assets are within the scope of UK IHT now depends mainly on how many years you have been resident in the UK, and that exposure can continue for several years after you leave. This could affect long-term residents who previously had no UK IHT exposure on overseas assets, as well as some overseas trusts. If you have lived in the UK for a long time, have recently left, or have significant overseas assets, it is worth reviewing your position.
How it works
Your first call is a Tax Planning Discovery & Scoping Call. The purpose of the initial conversation is to understand your circumstances and determine where IB&Co can provide meaningful advisory support. From there, the process follows five clear steps.
Discovery
We start by understanding your circumstances and objectives.
Scope
We identify the areas requiring further consideration.
Review
Where appropriate, we undertake a detailed advisory review.
Recommendations
We provide professional guidance based on the agreed scope of work.
Ongoing Support
Where required, we provide ongoing planning and advisory support.
Meet your adviser
Ishmael Bangura, Managing Partner
Ishmael Bangura is the Managing Partner of IB&Co Accountants. He has been a practising accountant and tax adviser in the UK for about 15 years, and in that time has advised more than 950 clients, including startups.
Ishmael is also an entrepreneur who has built and exited businesses of his own, and that experience of running a business informs how he approaches tax planning with clients.
Other Tax Advisory Services
Tax questions rarely sit neatly in one area. Explore our other Tax Advisory services below.
Business Tax Advisory
For SMEs and growing businesses seeking a more proactive approach to tax planning. We help owners and directors consider the tax implications of business decisions before the year end, not after it.
Director Tax Planning
For company directors and shareholders reviewing remuneration and income extraction strategies. Salary, dividends, pension contributions and the timing of payments can affect both your personal and company tax position.
Corporation Tax Planning
For businesses seeking greater visibility and planning around Corporation Tax. We help you bring tax considerations into investment, expenditure and profit extraction decisions earlier in the year.
Personal Tax Planning
For individuals with multiple income streams or increasingly complex financial circumstances. A decision in one area of your finances can affect your tax position in another, so it helps to plan ahead.
Property & Capital Gains Tax
For property owners, landlords and investors. We help you understand rental income, joint ownership and Capital Gains Tax considerations before a sale, transfer or other major transaction.
Residency & International Tax
For internationally mobile individuals and those with overseas income or cross-border interests. We help you understand UK tax residency and overseas income questions before key decisions are made.
R&D Tax Credits
For companies investing in innovation, in any sector. We help identify qualifying R&D activities, document the work and prepare claims, including the HMRC paperwork.
Tax Investigation Support
For individuals and SMEs facing an HMRC enquiry, compliance check or disclosure. We act as your authorised agent and deal with HMRC on your behalf, so you do not have to face HMRC alone.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
For property buyers, including purchases through a company and mixed-use property. We advise on reliefs, the higher rates for additional dwellings and possible SDLT reclaims, ideally before you exchange contracts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Early. The families who benefit most from inheritance tax planning are often the ones who started early, because some gifting and trust arrangements need time to take full effect.
Gifting, Business Property Relief, Agricultural Property Relief, your main residence and the residence nil-rate band, trusts, and making sure your will fits your wider inheritance tax planning.
These conversations can feel uncomfortable. Inheritance tax planning is really about making sure your money goes to the people you care about. We start with a personalised review of your estate and what you want to achieve.
Yes. Whether your overseas assets fall within UK inheritance tax now depends on how long you have been resident in the UK, rather than on your domicile. This can affect people who have lived in the UK for many years, people who have recently left the UK, and anyone with overseas assets or interests in overseas trusts. It is worth reviewing your position.
Not always, but it can help. Filing a return reports what has already happened. Tax advisory looks at important decisions before you make them, so you can understand the possible tax implications while there may still be room to plan.
Our Tax Advisory service is designed to complement your existing accounting and compliance work.
We quote after the discovery and scoping call, once we understand what you need.
Request a callback
Prefer us to call you? Leave your details, the service you are interested in and a convenient time, and a member of the IB&Co team will call you back to talk through your circumstances.
Start your inheritance tax planning early
Let’s start with your circumstances. Book a confidential initial conversation with IB&Co to discuss your circumstances and identify the areas where Tax Advisory support may be appropriate. Where detailed tax advice is required, we will explain the recommended next steps and engagement process.
Bring your latest accounts or tax return and a note of what you want to achieve.