Murray Beith Murray LLP is a leading Scottish private client law firm.
For 175 years we have specialised in meeting the legal, financial and administrative needs of individuals and families, family trusts, charities and private companies.
Making Tax Digital (MTD), or Making Tax Difficult as some critics would say, is due to become mandatory for self-employed business owners and landlords from April 2026.
In the recent Autumn Budget 2024, it was announced by the Government that measures will be put into place to reform the Inheritance Tax treatment of pensions. From 6 April 2027, unused pension funds will be included within the value of a person’s estate. These changes will affect both UK registered pension schemes and Qualifying Non-UK Pension Schemes.
After promising not to raise income tax levels, there is ongoing speculation about what taxes the new Labour government might target to meet its spending commitments.
It has recently been reported through a release from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on 23 April 2024 that UK taxpayers paid £7.5 billion in Inheritance Tax (IHT) from April 2023 to March 2024, being an increase of £0.4 billion from the same period last year.
When you carry out succession planning, one of the key elements is to consider whether to gift part of your wealth now or wait until your death. If you decide to gift assets whilst you are alive, certain rules apply for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes. Key to understanding whether the gift you make will be exempt from IHT is to understand the rules surrounding “potentially exempt transfers” and “gifts with reservation”.
