Survey Finds Most Britons Are Unaware Of Inheritance Tax Trap

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

28 April 2004

The vast majority of taxpayers in the United Kingdom are uninformed about the rules surrounding inheritance tax, according to the results of a survey released by charitable group Remember a Charity.

The survey found that only 2% of respondents were aware of the £263,000 threshold on the value of a home above which inheritance tax kicks in at a rate of 40%.

Furthermore, 52% of those polled were of the opinion that inheritance tax does not apply to them, despite the fact that soaring house prices are pushing increasing numbers of homeowners above the threshold.

In the year 2003/2004, some 32,000 homes were caught in the estate tax net according to figures quoted by the BBC, representing a 28% increase on the previous year.

"If each of the 32,000 households caught by IHT last year were to pledge £3,000 in their will, this would amount to nearly £100m in additional income for charities," pointed out director of the charity lobby group, Theresa Dauncey.

Remember a Charity is running a campaign involving over one hundred UK charities, which aims to make people aware that charitable donations made in wills are tax free.

The campaign has the backing of several major trade bodies in the legal profession such as the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers (APCIMS) and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

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