The need to provide for loved ones after you
die is an important issue. With a little planning,
you can ensure that your beneficiaries pay minimal
tax on their inheritance.
Here are the main assets caught in the inheritance
tax net?
- All personal assets, including your house,
contents and personal effects
- Life Insurance policies arranged on an own
life basis
- Any lump sum death benefit payable under a
pension scheme in the event of death before
retirement.
There are some important exemptions:
- Each year, you are allowed to receive tax-free,
a gift of up to €1,269.73 a year from another
person.
- Agricultural relief of 90% is granted on farmland
and buildings included in a gift or inheritance
received by a farmer.
- Business relief of 90% is granted on "relevant
business property" included in a gift/inheritance-with
a number of qualifications.
- Your family home may be exempt if the beneficiary
has lived there for at least the 3 years before
your death, has no other residence- and keeps
the family home for at leas another 6 years
- Life Assurance policies taken out to pay the
inheritance tax due on your death are also exempt
from inheritance tax, provided that the proceeds
are used to pay the due. Any excess will be
taxed. The tax is payable within four months
of the date of the inheritance.
Willis can arrange a Section 60 Life
Assurance Policy set up under trust for your beneficiaries.
This will allow the proceeds to be paid into the
trust rather than to your estate. This allows
for the payment of tax due without having to sell
any of the inheritance.
Policy Types
- A single life policy covering you only
- A joint Life/Last Survivor policy covering
you and your spouse. The inheritance tax is
payable on the death of the second person.
It is also possible to alter the policy should
your needs change.
For more information on inheritance tax plannning,
please contact
us.
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