Is your estate over the inheritance tax threshold? Get advice in Oxfordshire

From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits are expected to be included in the value of your estate for Inheritance Tax. Until now these have usually sat outside the estate, which is why pensions have often been used to pass wealth on tax-efficiently. The change is expected to pull many more families, including a good number in Oxfordshire, into IHT or into a higher bill, so it is worth reviewing how your pensions fit your overall plan well before the date.

Each person has a nil-rate band of £325,000, frozen until April 2030. On top of that, a residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000 can apply when a main home passes to direct descendants such as children or grandchildren. Because unused allowances can pass between spouses and civil partners, a couple can potentially pass on up to £1,000,000 in total. Anything above the available thresholds is generally taxed at 40%. The residence nil-rate band tapers away for estates over £2,000,000.

Many lifetime gifts are treated as potentially exempt transfers. If you live for seven years after making the gift, it usually falls outside your estate entirely. If you die within seven years, the gift may be brought back into the calculation, though taper relief can reduce the tax on gifts made between three and seven years before death. There is also a £3,000 annual gift exemption, and gifts out of genuine surplus income can qualify too. The detail matters, which is where a specialist helps.

Trusts can be useful for protecting assets from divorce or creditors, providing for young or vulnerable beneficiaries, and controlling when and how an inheritance is received. Some trusts have their own tax treatment, such as the relevant property regime, so they are not automatically the right answer for everyone. A specialist will only suggest a trust where it genuinely fits your goals and explain the cost and tax position clearly first.

Yes. Dying without a will means the intestacy rules decide who inherits, which may not match your wishes and can increase the tax bill. A well-drafted will is also what lets your estate use the residence nil-rate band properly. Separately, two types of Lasting Power of Attorney, one for property and financial affairs and one for health and welfare, let people you trust act for you if you lose capacity. They must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, so it is worth doing in good time.

This site itself does not give regulated financial or legal advice; it connects you with regulated specialists who do. Any figures you see here are illustrative and educational. Your actual plan and any numbers would come from a regulated specialist who has reviewed your full circumstances, and nothing here is promised as a guaranteed saving or outcome.

Generally, the earlier the better. Several of the most effective tools, particularly lifetime gifting under the 7-year rule, work best with time on your side, and the 6 April 2027 pension change adds a clear reason not to wait. Planning earlier also means decisions are made calmly rather than under pressure. If you are 50 or older with a Oxfordshire property and pensions, a review now is rarely wasted.

It is a no-obligation conversation to understand your estate, your family and what you want to achieve. The specialist will give you an initial sense of your likely IHT exposure and whether planning is worthwhile for you, then a clear fixed-fee quote if you choose to go further. There is no commission and no pressure to proceed.