Who We Help
Wealth across borders? Planned for the next generation
Complex personal and business structures. Wealth planning, succession, and cross-border asset management.
The Short Answer
Inheritance tax is a 40% tax on the part of your estate that exceeds your tax-free allowances when you die. For most people the first £325,000 is tax-free, and a married couple leaving a home to direct descendants can often pass on up to £1 million with no inheritance tax at all.
You reduce inheritance tax by using every allowance and exemption you are entitled to, giving assets away early enough to fall outside your estate, structuring gifts through trusts or life policies, and claiming reliefs on business and agricultural property. Most of the meaningful levers depend on time, survival and careful records, so the earlier you plan, the more the plan can do.
For international families the picture changed on 6 April 2025: inheritance tax has shifted from a domicile test to a residence test, and the reforms fundamentally changed the position for UK-resident settlors and beneficiaries of offshore trusts.
What Usually Needs Solving
The points that decide what you pay
Lifetime gifts and the 7-year rule
Giving assets away early enough moves them outside your estate; the 7-year rule and taper relief decide how much inheritance tax a lifetime gift still carries.
Trusts
Most UK trusts face entry, ten-year anniversary and exit charges, yet families still use them for control, asset protection and generational planning.
Residence-based inheritance tax
From April 2025 the test is residence, not domicile: long-term UK residents are within UK IHT on their worldwide estate, and the tail can follow you after you leave.
Offshore structures
The old protected-settlement regime for non-resident trusts has been abolished; for many families this is an urgent planning trigger rather than a theoretical one.
Pensions and the coming reforms
Major reforms landing in April 2026 and April 2027 change the picture for business owners, farmers and pension savers.
Free In-Depth Guides
Read the guides first, if you like
Inheritance Tax
UK Inheritance Tax Explained
Inheritance Tax is a 40% charge on the part of your estate above the tax-free allowances. This guide explains the nil-rate bands, lifetime gifts and how the 2025 residence-based rules changed who is in scope.
9 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Inheritance Tax
How to Reduce Your Inheritance Tax
A 2026/27 UK planning guide to legally reducing inheritance tax: allowances, the 7-year gift rule, gifts out of income, trusts, business relief and the 2027 pension change.
9 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Inheritance Tax
Gifts and the 7-Year Rule for Inheritance Tax
A 2026/27 UK guide to inheritance tax and the 7-year rule: how lifetime gifts, potentially exempt transfers, taper relief and annual exemptions cut IHT.
9 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Inheritance Tax
The Residence Nil-Rate Band Explained
How the residence nil-rate band works in 2026/27: the £175,000 allowance, who counts as a direct descendant, the £2m taper, spousal transfer and the downsizing addition.
7 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Inheritance Tax
Pensions and Inheritance Tax: The April 2027 Change
From 6 April 2027, unused pension funds and death benefits fall within your estate for UK inheritance tax.
8 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Trusts
Trusts and Inheritance Tax Explained
How UK trusts are taxed for inheritance tax in 2026/27: the relevant property regime, the 20% entry charge, the 6% ten-year charge, exit charges and why families still use trusts.
9 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Trusts
Excluded Property Trusts After the 2025 Reforms
How excluded property trusts work now that UK inheritance tax is residence-based from 6 April 2025.
8 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Non-Doms & Inbound
Offshore Trusts and UK Tax After the Non-Dom Reforms
How the 6 April 2025 non-dom abolition changed offshore trusts: the end of protected settlement status, residence-based trust IHT, the FIG regime, the TRF and your restructuring options.
8 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Non-Doms & Inbound
Residence-Based Inheritance Tax: The New UK Rules
Residence-based inheritance tax replaced UK domicile from 6 April 2025.
6 min read · Reviewed June 2026
Free Tax Tools
Run your own numbers, before we speak
Inheritance Tax Calculator
Free UK inheritance tax calculator for 2026/27: estimate the IHT on an estate with the nil-rate band, the residence nil-rate band and its taper, transferable allowances and the reduced charity rate.
Try it freeGift and 7-Year-Rule Inheritance Tax Timeline
Free tool: see how the 7-year rule and taper relief affect the inheritance tax on a lifetime gift, and how many years you need to survive for it to be fully exempt. 2026/27.
Try it freeInheritance Tax Residence Tail Calculator
Free tool: under the residence-based inheritance tax rules from April 2025, see whether you are a long-term resident and how many years your worldwide estate stays in UK IHT after you leave. 2026/27.
Try it freeOur Promise
Fixed fees, agreed in advance
We confirm your fee in writing before any work begins. You always know exactly what you are paying, billed as a fixed amount, never in arrears by the hour.
What it costs
Complex personal tax returns, covering multiple income streams, investments, trusts, and complex structures, are £750+. Bespoke advisory, including trust and estate tax advisory, is scoped to your situation and quoted as a fixed fee from £200, agreed in advance with no hidden charges.
See full fixed-fee pricingCommon Questions
Honest answers, before you book
More questions? Read our full FAQ.
Ready When You Are
Start with a free clarity call
Book a free clarity call and we will talk through your situation and confirm a fixed price in writing: no obligation, no pressure, and no surprises.
Prefer email? Reach us at jordanonraet-wells@horizonukts.com