Residence Nil Rate Band: Who should you leave your home to on death?

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LV Legal Services says that over 1.7 million people who are 55 plus have the potential to miss out on the newly increased nil-rate band as they have left the family home to a sibling rather than a direct descendant. One in 10 over 55s have decided to leave their estate to a sibling, meaning the new residential nil-rate band will not apply and will disqualify them from being able to use it. The new residential nil-rate band came into effect on the 6th April 2017 and it means that an initial allowance of £100,000 per person per family home will be Inheritance Tax free, increasing the total maximum individual allowance for IHT to £425,000 or £850,000 for married couples. Anything above £850,000 or £425,000 will be taxable at 40%.The allowance for tax free inheritance on the family home will then increase by £25,000 per person per tax year until 2020, when the tax free allowance combined with a spouse or a civil partner is at £1million. Meaning you could leave your property to either your children or direct descendants of a value of up to £1million IHT free. However, if you were to leave the family home to a sibling then the IHT bill will be 40% of the difference between £1million and £650,000, leaving a potential IHT bill of up to £140,000.This means getting the correct advice on reducing the risk of IHT is worthwhile and could save your children or direct descendants up to £140,000. Do not hesitate to contact us, we’d be happy to help.