IHT400 Notes : Guide to completing your Inheritance Tax account

Gifts made within
seven years
before death
A Website: www.hmrc.gov.uk/
inheritancetax
Helpline: 0845 30 20 900
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IHT400 Notes
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Guide to completing your Inheritance Tax account
Gifts or assets transferred
This includes gifts of cash or other assets and any other arrangements that
have given rise to a 'loss to the donor'. This may include:
• granting a lease at less than full market rent
• re-arranging the shares in a private company, or altering the rights
attached to the shares
• agreeing to act as a guarantor for someone else's debts.
If you are not sure whether to include details of a particular transaction,
please phone our helpline.
Trusts and settlements created by the deceased during their lifetime
This includes gifts of cash or other assets as well as any other arrangements
with the trustees that have given rise to a 'loss to the donor'. If the gift was
made on or after 22 March 2006 we will calculate tax using the rate of tax
appropriate to the date the gift was made, unless one of the following
conditions apply:
• the trust was set up for the benefit of a person who was disabled at the
time the assets were transferred into trust, or
• the trust was set up by a person who is suffering from a condition which
can be expected to lead to them becoming disabled, and
— the gift was from their own assets
— the trust is for their own benefit.
See page 16 of this guide for a definition of a disabled person.
Premiums paid on a life assurance policy
You should answer 'yes' to this question if the deceased has made a gift by
paying the premium(s) on a life assurance policy for the benefit of
someone else. Please ignore policies where the only person to benefit
would be the deceased's spouse or civil partner. You should provide a
copy of:
• the life assurance policy, and
• any related documents such as trust deeds and loan agreements.
If there is more than one insurance policy and they are all identical, you
only need to send a copy of one policy. You must include details of all
premiums paid and provide copies of the policy documents, even if you
are deducting exemption as gifts made out of income (see page 21).
In some circumstances, the deceased may have purchased an annuity as
well as paying the premiums on a life assurance policy for the benefit of
someone else. There are rules that might apply in such circumstances and
the exemption as gifts made out of income may not be available against
the premiums.
Please provide a copy of the annuity documents and life assurance policy if
the deceased had:
• purchased an annuity (at any time), and
• paid the premiums on a life assurance policy for the benefit of someone
else, and
• the life assurance policy was taken out after 27 March 1974.