Mrs A is the executor of her mother’s estate. Some valuable items were left to her and her sister. She wants to sell several of these to pay debts of the estate. Will there be any tax and if so, who is responsible for it? Family tax expert Brona MacDougall provides the answers. Administering an...

Giving away your wealth to members of your family reduces your estate for inheritance tax purposes, but only after seven years. However, it is possible to achieve the same result without the wait. What steps do you need to take? Inheritance tax expert Brona MacDougall has some valuable advice for you. Any tax expert will...

Q. My parents stay in and pay the mortgage on my house, is this classed as rental income? I have owned a house for 12 years which I don’t currently live in. My parents live in the house and they pay me just enough money each month to cover the mortgage payments. Should I pay...

Claim VAT on a new house build? Q. My wife and I have just bought a plot of land. We intend to build a new house on the land and sell it. Can we register for VAT and claim input tax on our building costs? A. The answer is yes, but there are two important...

From being unattractive and restrictive in many ways, pensions have now become a great deal more appealing. Back in 2014 the then Chancellor George Osborne gave savers full access to their pension pots abolishing the requirement an annuity. As well as this, there is also the potential to use pensions as a way to mitigate...

When it comes to making gifts, timing is the difference between paying Inheritance Tax or not. Making gifts, especially if they are sizeable, usually reduces the potential Inheritance Tax bill on your estate as long as you survive seven years. But there are some rules that can mean that this won’t always be achieved. Kenny...

After someone dies, the people looking after their affairs have to add up the value of what is left behind and take off any debts and expenses. Depending on how much is left in the person’s estate (their property, money and possessions) there might be Inheritance Tax to pay. Inheritance Tax is paid if a...

by Kevin D. Ferguson BA CA, Partner , JRW Chartered Accountants   In this month’s article we provide a summary of the key tax points from the Summer Budget. We have mainly concentrated on the tax measures that will directly affect individuals, employers and small businesses in 2016 and 2017. Tax rates and the personal...

It might surprise you to know but Inheritance Tax (IHT) is starting to become more of a concern to many people, the main reason for this being rising property prices. Most estates (the assets you leave when you die) are still not charged with Inheritance Tax, as the total value is not high enough, but...