People urged to prepare early for inheritance tax

Planning for inheritance tax should begin long in advance, one expert has claimed.David Brunning of Brunning Newman Houghton argues that the fundamental change in terms of inheritance tax planning is that the work should begin far earlier than it used to.He warned: "The rules have changed and the two most important considerations are now that clients need to start planning a lot earlier than they used to - that's the fundamental change."Mr Brunning added: "If they are going to take inheritance tax planning seriously they need to be looking at making gifts using as much of the allowance as they can every seven years."He also explained that although the inheritance tax threshold had been raised to £600,000, there remain "a number of clients who are worth considerably more than that".HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) defines inheritance tax as a levy that may be payable on an estate when someone dies, or when assets are transferred into a discretionary trust or to a company.For a complete guide on international tax law contact your international tax law attorney today!