Would You Marry to Save Tax?
More and more couples are asking themselves this question as the realisation sets in that co-habiting rather than tying the knot can have costly financial implications.
House prices are rising and the individual inheritance tax threshold of £325k (the maximum before an estate is taxed at 40%) is frozen for at least five years.
In London the average house price is already way above this “nil rate band”. As married couples and civil partners can inherit assets tax-free, this isn’t something that many couples can afford to ignore. Sadly many do.
As highlighted Telegraph article below, awareness of Inheritance Tax and how it works remains low. Equally worrying, however, is the misperception by many people that saving on Inheritance Tax somehow equates to irresponsible tax avoidance.
This is not the case.
There are sensible and completely legitimate ways to save on inheritance tax and pass on as much of your estate as possible to your loved ones. The responsible choice is to take action and ensure that you have taken all the appropriate measures for your circumstances.
The key question in this article is this: “Is “estate planning” – the process of trying to limit inheritance tax – the preserve of the very old and rich?” The answer: Absolutely, unequivocally and most definitely not. Don’t lose out unnecessarily to the taxman.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/tax/10638803/The-younger-couples-marrying-to-beat-inheritance-tax.html