Inheritance tax · Fareham
Inheritance tax planning in Fareham
Wondering whether your family could face an inheritance tax bill, and what you can do about it? We help you understand where you stand and plan ahead in a way that fits your wishes, working alongside your solicitor or accountant where needed.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax planning, estate planning, trusts or will writing.
Who this helps
Homeowners with savings and pensions
With house prices and tax-free thresholds frozen, more families find their estate could be over the limit. You'd like to know if yours is.
Parents and grandparents
You'd like to help your family now, perhaps with a house deposit or school fees, and want to understand how gifts are treated.
People with larger pensions
You've heard pensions are being brought into inheritance tax and want to know what it could mean for you.
What inheritance tax planning usually covers
Every family is different, so we'll only know what's right for you once we've gone through your details together. The areas we usually look at are:
- Where you stand now: a rough idea of the value of your estate and whether tax might be due
- Gifts: how gifts during your lifetime are treated and which ones are exempt
- Pensions: how your pensions fit into your plans, especially with the rule change from April 2027
- Life cover: whether a policy written in trust could help your family pay any tax bill
- Investments: how the way you hold your savings and investments might affect things
- Working with others: we don't write wills or give legal advice. If you need a will, a lasting power of attorney or a more complex trust, we'll work with your solicitor, or help you find one
The basics, in brief
- Inheritance tax is usually charged at 40% on the part of an estate above the tax-free threshold.
- Everyone has a tax-free allowance, called the nil rate band, of £325,000.
- There's an extra allowance of up to £175,000, called the residence nil rate band, if you leave your home to your children or grandchildren. It reduces for larger estates.
- Anything left to a husband, wife or civil partner is usually free of inheritance tax, and unused allowances can often pass to them.
- These allowances are frozen up to and including the 2030/31 tax year.
- From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits are due to count as part of your estate for inheritance tax.
How it works
First meeting
A free, no obligation conversation about your family, your wishes and what's worrying you. See what to expect at your first meeting.
Your plan
If you'd like to go ahead, we'd meet and go through your full details first: what you own, your pensions, your family and what you'd like to happen. We then set out our recommendations in writing, explained clearly, and work with your solicitor or accountant where needed.
Ongoing reviews
Tax rules and family circumstances change. If you'd like, we'll review your plan with you at least once a year. Ongoing reviews are optional.
What it costs
Your first meeting is free. Costs will be agreed with you before any work starts.
Questions people ask
How much can I leave before inheritance tax is due?
Everyone has a £325,000 tax-free allowance. If you leave your home to your children or grandchildren, you may get up to £175,000 more. Married couples and civil partners can often combine their allowances, so together they could pass on up to £1 million before tax is due, if their home goes to their children or grandchildren and their estate is under £2 million. Whether this applies to you depends on your circumstances.
Can I give money away to reduce inheritance tax?
Often, yes. Some gifts are exempt straight away, such as up to £3,000 a year in total, small gifts of up to £250 per person, and regular gifts from your surplus income. Larger gifts usually fall outside your estate if you live for seven years after making them. The rules have conditions, so it's worth getting them right.
Are pensions included in inheritance tax?
At the moment most pensions are usually outside your estate. From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits are due to be included. This could change how you plan to use your pensions and savings in retirement.
Do you write wills or set up trusts?
We don't write wills or give legal advice. Where a trust is part of a plan, for example for a life insurance policy, we'll explain how it works and can help with the provider's standard trust forms. For wills, lasting powers of attorney and more complex trusts, we'll work with your solicitor. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax planning, estate planning, trusts or will writing.
- Fareham
- Portchester
- Titchfield
- Stubbington
- Hill Head
- Lee-on-the-Solent
- Gosport
- Locks Heath
- Park Gate
- Warsash
- Sarisbury
- Whiteley
- Hedge End
- Botley
- Curdridge
- Shedfield
- Wickham
- Bishop's Waltham
- Portsmouth
- Hayling Island
This page is general information, not personal advice.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax planning, estate planning, trusts or will writing.
Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in the future. The figures on this page are for the 2026/27 tax year.
The value of investments and pensions, and any income from them, can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the amount invested.