IHT Advice London

Why IHT Advice Matters in London

Inheritance Tax in the UK is charged at 40% on the value of an estate above the available nil-rate bands. Two thresholds matter for most families:

The nil-rate band of £325,000, frozen until April 2030.
The residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000, available when a main home is left to direct descendants and the estate is below £2 million (it tapers above that).

A married couple or civil partners can in principle pass up to £1 million between them tax-free. That sounds generous until you look at London property. The average London house price has been hovering around £520,000–£560,000 for several years, and in inner London boroughs the average sits well above that. A single homeowner in Wandsworth, Hackney or Camden with a paid-down mortgage and modest pension or ISA savings is often already over the threshold without realising it.

On top of property values, three other things tend to push London clients into IHT territory:

Buy-to-let portfolios, often built up across the South East.
Shareholdings in private companies and trading businesses.
Cross-border affairs: Non-UK domiciled clients, foreign property, or beneficiaries living abroad. The April 2025 move to a residence-based system replaced the old domicile rules and changed the planning calculus for many international families.

How Our Inheritance Tax Advisers in London Help

Most engagements touch on some combination of the following:

Use of the nil-rate band, residence nil-rate band, and the transferable allowances between spouses and civil partners.
Lifetime gifting : The £3,000 annual exemption, small gifts, gifts in consideration of marriage, and gifts out of normal expenditure from surplus income (an under-used relief that has no upper limit when the rules are met properly).
Potentially Exempt Transfers (PETs) and the seven-year rule, including taper relief between years three and seven.
Trust planning : discretionary trusts, bare trusts, loan trusts, discounted gift trusts, and where each is and isn’t appropriate.
Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief, including the changes coming in April 2026 that cap full relief at £1 million per person on qualifying assets.
Family Investment Companies and Family Limited Liability Partnerships for larger estates where a corporate or partnership structure is genuinely needed.
Life policies written into trust to fund an expected IHT bill.
Charitable giving, including the reduced 36% IHT rate when 10% or more of the net estate is left to charity.
Executor support : completing IHT400 or IHT205, dealing with HMRC, and meeting the six-month payment deadline.

Our inheritance tax advisers team provide bespoke advice and specialist advice tailored to your needs.

Our aim is to give you confidence that your affairs are arranged sensibly, with careful IHT planning and tax-efficient solutions, and to highlight the importance of seeking professional advice.

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Who We Work With

Our typical London clients fall into a few groups:

Homeowners in their 50s, 60s and 70s who want to understand their position before retirement.
Landlords with two or more properties in London or the South East.
Owner-managed business clients planning succession or a sale.
High net worth families with cross-border assets or non-UK domiciled members.
Executors and bereaved families dealing with an estate, often under time pressure.
Cohabiting couples, blended families and unmarried partners, where the spouse exemption doesn’t apply and the planning is different.

If you are unsure whether your situation needs advice, the discovery call is the right place to find out.

Our IHT Advice Process

Our process is the same whether you have a £600,000 estate or a £20 million one. The difference is in the strategies we look at, not in how we engage.

1. Discovery call

A 20–30 minute call, free of charge, to understand your circumstances, what is on your mind, and whether we are the right firm for you. If we think your situation is better handled by a regulated financial adviser or a private client solicitor, we will tell you.

2. Information gathering

If you decide to proceed, we send you a structured questionnaire covering assets, liabilities, family structure, existing wills and any trusts already in place. For business owners we also ask for the latest accounts and shareholdings.

3. IHT exposure review

We calculate your current likely IHT liability based on the value of your estate, the nil-rate bands available to you, and any reliefs that already apply. You receive a written summary you can keep.

4. Recommendations

We set out the options that fit your situation. That might include using gifting allowances, restructuring property ownership, considering Business Relief or Agricultural Relief where it applies, or putting assets into a suitable trust. We explain the trade-offs of each including the seven-year rule on lifetime gifts, loss of control, and the tax cost of getting it wrong so you can make an informed decision rather than a sales-led one.

5. Implementation

We work with your solicitor and accountant where you already have them. If you don’t, we can introduce you to firms we trust and have worked with for years.

6. Ongoing review

IHT rules change. Pensions are due to become part of the IHT estate from April 2027. Personal circumstances change too. We review plans annually for clients who want us to.

Talk to Us About IHT Advice in London

If you want to understand your Inheritance Tax position and explore practical ways to safeguard your estate, we’re here to help.

Email us at info@heirplan.co.uk

Arrange an initial conversation and start building a clear, structured IHT plan for your family.

Important Notice

This information is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal, financial or tax advice. Inheritance Tax rules may change, and their impact depends on your personal circumstances. Always seek personalised advice before taking action.

Frequently asked questions

Do I actually need IHT advice if my estate is under £1 million?

Possibly. If you are married, own your home, and your assets sit comfortably under the combined £1 million threshold, formal advice may not be needed yet — though a will review is still sensible. The picture changes if you are single, divorced or widowed (one set of allowances rather than two), if your estate is above £2 million (the residence nil-rate band tapers away), or if pension wealth is significant given the 2027 changes.

How much does HeirPlan charge?

The discovery call is free. After that, we agree a fixed fee for the work based on scope. Most IHT review and planning engagements for individual clients fall between £1,500 and £6,000. Trust formation, FIC setup and complex multi-jurisdictional work are quoted separately. We will not start chargeable work without a signed engagement letter.

Can you help if a family member has already died?

Yes. Executor support is a core part of our work. We help with valuing the estate, completing IHT400 and the supporting schedules, applying for any reliefs the estate is entitled to, and meeting the six-month deadline for paying IHT. We can also work with the probate solicitor if one is already involved.

Do you only work with clients in London?

We are London-based and meet clients in person when it helps. We work with clients across England and Wales by video call, and with international clients with UK assets or UK-resident beneficiaries.

How long does an IHT plan take to put together?

From the discovery call to a written set of recommendations is typically two to four weeks for a straightforward estate. Implementation drafting trusts, restructuring ownership, updating wills adds a few weeks more, depending on what is involved.