Tax advisers for high net worth individuals is a specialist who provides in-depth tax planning and compliance services to people with significant wealth. HMRC’s Wealthy Team defines a wealthy individual as someone with annual income exceeding £200,000 or net assets of at least £2 million in any of the preceding three years. A separate HMRC unit, the High Net Worth Unit, focuses specifically on individuals with assets of £10 million or more.
These advisers go well beyond standard accountancy. They handle the layers of complexity that come with owning multiple assets, running businesses, holding investment portfolios, and planning for intergenerational wealth transfer. Their work spans inheritance tax planning, capital gains tax management, trust structuring, and ensuring clients remain fully compliant as HMRC’s scrutiny of wealthy individuals intensifies.
This guide is written for:
- Individuals with net assets of £2 million or more
- Ultra high net worth families with assets of £10 million or more
- Business owners with complex or multi-entity holdings
- Beneficiaries of substantial estates
This guide focuses on UK tax law and HMRC compliance for the 2025/26 tax year. It does not cover international tax planning for non-UK residents or basic personal tax services.
Why Standard Accountants Are Often Not Enough
As wealth grows, so does its tax complexity. A standard accountant may handle self-assessment returns and business accounts perfectly well, but the financial structures that high net worth individuals maintain require a different level of expertise.
Consider the range of income sources that many HNWIs manage at once: investment portfolios, rental income from property, proceeds from business sales, dividends from privately held companies, and trust distributions. Each carries distinct tax treatment, and they interact with one another in ways that require coordinated planning rather than piecemeal advice.
HMRC’s Wealthy Team comprises around 910 full-time staff dedicated to monitoring compliance among wealthy individuals. Wealthy taxpayers are more likely to receive detailed enquiries, and mistakes or oversights can attract penalties that far outweigh the cost of proper specialist advice from the outset.
Core Tax Advisory Services for High Net Worth Individuals
Inheritance Tax Planning
Inheritance tax (IHT) is charged at 40% on the value of an estate above the nil-rate band, which stands at £325,000 per person and is frozen at this level until at least April 2030. An additional residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000 per person applies where a qualifying main home is passed to direct descendants (children, stepchildren, adopted children, or grandchildren), bringing the individual threshold to £500,000, or up to £1 million for a married couple or civil partnership using both sets of allowances.
The residence nil-rate band tapers away for estates above £2 million, reducing by £1 for every £2 over that threshold, and disappears entirely at £2.35 million for individuals.
Specialist advisers help clients reduce IHT exposure through a range of strategies:
- Lifetime gifting within the annual exemption of £3,000 per person per year, and potentially exempt transfers (PETs) that fall outside the estate if the donor survives seven years
- Establishing trusts to move assets outside the taxable estate over time
- Claiming business property relief (BPR) on qualifying business assets, which currently provides 100% relief up to £2.5 million per person (see note below on April 2026 changes)
- Agricultural property relief (APR) for qualifying farming land and property, also subject to the £2.5 million 100% relief cap from April 2026
- Charitable giving, which can reduce the IHT rate to 36% on the remainder of the estate if at least 10% is left to a qualifying UK charity
Important: BPR and APR changes from 6 April 2026. From April 2026, 100% IHT relief for business and agricultural property is capped at a combined £2.5 million per individual (increased from the originally proposed £1 million following government consultation). Assets above this threshold still qualify for relief, but at a reduced rate of 50%, producing an effective IHT rate of 20% on that excess. The £2.5 million allowance is transferable between spouses and civil partners, giving couples a potential combined cap of £5 million. AIM-listed shares no longer qualify for 100% BPR and will receive only 50% relief from April 2026. These changes are significant for business owners and farmers, and estates that may be affected should review their planning before the April 2026 effective date.
Capital Gains Tax Planning
Capital gains tax (CGT) applies when assets are sold at a profit. For 2025/26, the annual CGT exempt amount is £3,000 per individual. Following the October 2024 Autumn Budget, rates were unified across asset types from 30 October 2024:
- Gains falling within the unused income tax basic-rate band: 18%
- Gains above the basic-rate band: 24%
- These rates apply to all assets, including residential property (the higher 28% rate on residential property was removed in October 2024)
- Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) on qualifying business disposals up to a £1 million lifetime limit: 14% for 2025/26, rising to 18% from April 2026
- Investors’ Relief follows the same rate schedule as BADR
Specialist advisers help clients time asset disposals, use spousal transfers, and structure holdings to make the best use of available reliefs and lower rates.
Trust Structuring
Trusts serve a range of purposes for high net worth families: passing wealth to the next generation in a controlled way, protecting assets, or providing for vulnerable beneficiaries. Common trust types used in HNWI planning include:
- Discretionary trusts, where trustees have flexibility over distributions to beneficiaries
- Bare trusts, often used to hold assets for children until they reach 18
- Loan trusts, which allow the settlor to retain access to capital while potential growth accumulates outside the estate
- Discounted gift trusts, which combine regular income with IHT planning
- Interest in possession trusts, where a named beneficiary has the right to income
Trust taxation involves entry charges, ten-year periodic charges, and exit charges, all of which a specialist adviser should calculate and manage. The entry charge for a discretionary trust is typically 20% on the value above the available nil-rate band. The periodic charge is up to 6% every ten years on the value above the nil-rate band.
Investment Portfolio Tax Planning
Tax-efficient investment wrappers help reduce unnecessary tax drag on investment returns. Key options include:
- Pensions: the standard annual allowance is £60,000 for 2025/26. This is tapered for individuals whose threshold income exceeds £200,000 and whose adjusted income exceeds £260,000, reducing by £1 for every £2 of adjusted income above £260,000, to a minimum of £10,000
- ISAs: £20,000 annual allowance per person, with all gains and income sheltered from tax
- Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) investments, which offer income tax relief and CGT deferral for eligible investors
Advisers work alongside investment managers to ensure that portfolio construction and tax planning are aligned, rather than pulling in different directions.
Compliance and HMRC Relationship Management
High net worth individuals often have multiple tax return obligations: self-assessment, trust returns, corporate tax filings, and potentially overseas reporting requirements. A specialist adviser manages deadlines, coordinates information across different entities, and acts as the primary point of contact with HMRC if an enquiry arises.
How to Choose the Right Tax Adviser
Check Professional Qualifications
Look for advisers who hold recognised qualifications. In the UK, relevant credentials include:
- Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA), awarded by the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT)
- Fellow or Member of the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT)
- Chartered Accountant (ACA or ACCA) with a private client specialism
- Solicitor specialising in private client or trust law, regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority
Avoid firms that cannot demonstrate regulated status or relevant professional membership.
Assess the Depth of Their Experience
General tax knowledge is not the same as HNWI specialism. Ask prospective advisers:
- What proportion of their client base is high net worth?
- What specific IHT, trust, or business tax cases have they worked on?
- Do they have in-house specialists for trusts, property tax, and business tax, or do they refer these areas out?
Understand the Service Model
Some firms offer a dedicated relationship manager who coordinates advice across disciplines. Others operate as a team of specialists you contact directly. Neither model is inherently better, but you should understand who you will be speaking to and how quickly they respond to time-sensitive tax matters.
Consider also whether the firm can work alongside your other professional advisers (solicitors, investment managers, accountants) without creating gaps or duplication.
Boutique Firms vs Larger Practices
| Factor | Boutique Tax Firm | Large Accountancy Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Depth of specialisation | Often deep in specific areas such as IHT or trusts | Broad coverage with dedicated private client teams |
| Personal service | Direct access to senior advisers and relationship continuity | Structured team model with account management |
| Fee structure | Typically competitive and flexible | Higher rates with more standardised pricing |
| International reach | Dependent on referral networks | In-house international tax capability |
| Agility | Faster response on niche matters | Comprehensive resources and established systems |
Boutique firms often suit clients who want a close working relationship and specialist focus. Larger practices may be more appropriate where complex international or corporate tax matters require in-house resources across multiple disciplines.
Common Challenges and How to Address Them
Managing International Assets and Cross-Border Tax
Clients with overseas property, foreign investments, or non-UK income streams face obligations under multiple tax systems. Note that from April 2025, the UK’s IHT regime shifted from a domicile-based test to a residence-based test. Long-term UK residents (broadly, those who have been UK tax resident for at least 10 of the past 20 years) are now subject to UK IHT on their worldwide assets, not just UK-situated assets.
Double taxation treaties between the UK and other countries help prevent the same income being taxed twice, but the rules are complex and treaty provisions vary. Specialist advisers either hold international tax expertise in-house or maintain established relationships with overseas tax professionals.
Keeping Tax Planning Aligned with Business Goals
Tax efficiency should support commercial objectives, not override them. Well-structured advice considers the business implications of any tax-driven decision. Transferring assets into trust may reduce IHT exposure, for example, but could affect your ability to sell or refinance those assets later. A good adviser will present the full picture, not just the tax saving.
Keeping Up with Legislative Change
UK tax law changes frequently. The 2024 Autumn Budget introduced significant changes to CGT rates and the future treatment of agricultural and business property relief. The 2025 Autumn Budget and subsequent December 2025 announcement further amended the BPR and APR rules. From April 2027, unused defined contribution pension funds will be brought within the scope of IHT for the first time, representing a major shift in estate planning for pension holders.
Leading specialist firms maintain dedicated research functions to track Budget announcements, HMRC guidance updates, and tribunal decisions. Regular strategy reviews with your adviser should factor in any changes that affect your position.
What to Expect from the Adviser Relationship
Effective HNWI tax planning is an ongoing process that responds to changes in your personal circumstances, your business, and the tax environment.
At the outset, expect a thorough review of your current position across all asset classes and income sources. Your adviser should produce a written plan setting out recommendations, the reasoning behind each one, and the expected outcomes.
Review meetings should take place at least annually, and more frequently if significant events occur, such as a business sale, a death in the family, or a major legislative change.
Summary
Tax advisers who specialise in high net worth individuals provide a level of expertise that goes far beyond standard accountancy. The financial complexity that comes with significant wealth requires coordinated planning across inheritance tax, capital gains tax, trust law, investment structures, and compliance.
Choosing the right adviser means verifying qualifications, understanding their track record with clients in similar circumstances, and confirming that the service model suits your needs. The right specialist advice can result in substantial and lasting reductions in tax liability while keeping you fully compliant with HMRC requirements.
This article is intended as general guidance only and does not constitute tax advice. Tax rules change frequently, and individual circumstances vary. All figures and rates are based on the position as at the 2025/26 tax year. Please consult a qualified tax adviser regulated by the Chartered Institute of Taxation or the Financial Conduct Authority before making any decisions based on this content.
