Our speciality
Inheritance Tax planning in Devon and the South West
Inheritance Tax takes 40% of everything above your tax-free allowances. We help families across Devon and the South West use the legal reliefs available. That way, more of your home and savings passes to your children and grandchildren.
The allowance has stood still. Devon house prices have not.
Average Devon home prices from HM Land Registry, against the £325,000 tax-free allowance from GOV.UK (no other allowances counted), April 2009 to August 2026.
- Tax-free allowance, per person, 2009 and today
- £325,000
- Average Devon home, April 2009
- £181,989
- Average Devon home, August 2026
- £306,003
- The average home as a share of one allowance
- 56% then, 94% now
Prices rose 68% while the allowance stayed the same, and an average price is not the value of any one home.
27 Years of estate planning experience
STEP Affiliate Member, The Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners
Insured PII – Professional Indemnity Insurance
5.0 Rating from 24 Google reviews
How it works
How Inheritance Tax works
Inheritance Tax is paid on what you leave when you die, above your tax-free allowances. The rate is 40%. If everything you leave is worth less than your allowances, there’s nothing to pay, but rising house prices bring more family homes over the line.
This is a form of fiscal drag: a frozen threshold catches more people as prices rise. The Nil Rate Band has been £325,000 since 2009. Home values and savings have grown since then, but the threshold has not moved with them. So more ordinary family estates are dragged into the Inheritance Tax net. The Residence Nil Rate Band of £175,000 has not changed since 2020 either.
£325,000 each
Everyone has a tax-free allowance, called the Nil Rate Band – NRB.
£175,000 more for your home
An extra allowance if your home goes to your children or grandchildren. Known as the Residence Nil Rate Band – RNRB, it shrinks by £1 for every £2 your estate is worth over £2 million. In certain circumstances this tapering of the RNRB can be minimised or eliminated.
Married couples can share
Anything left to a husband, wife or civil partner is tax-free and any allowance not used passes to them. Together, a couple can pass on up to £1 million. This is known as the Transferable Nil Rate Band & Residence Nil Rate Band.
40% on the rest
The rate drops to 36% if you leave at least 10% of your estate to charity. The allowances are frozen until at least April 2030.
What a married couple can pass on tax-free
The home allowances apply when your home goes to your children or grandchildren and your estate is under £2 million.
A real example
How an East Devon couple’s £240,000 bill was removed
A retired couple in East Devon owned a home worth £1.2 million and had £400,000 in savings. Their family faced an Inheritance Tax bill of £240,000.
By setting up trusts built around their family, we were able to remove that bill. As house prices and investments grow, there are further options to keep it that way.
Every family is different. What works depends on what you own, who you want to leave it to and your health.
Home £1,200,000
Savings £400,000
Less the couple’s allowances −£1,000,000
Left to be taxed at 40% £600,000
Bill without planning £240,000
Bill after planning £0
Ways to reduce it
Legal ways to reduce Inheritance Tax
These are the main tools. Most plans use more than one, and the right mix depends on your family. If your estate is under your allowances, we’ll tell you there is nothing you need to do.
Gifts and the 7-year rule
A gift is free of Inheritance Tax if you live for 7 years after giving it. If you die sooner, the tax on large gifts can be reduced on a sliding scale after 3 years.
Yearly allowances
You can give £3,000 a year, plus any number of £250 gifts, without them counting. Wedding gifts of up to £5,000 to a child are exempt too.
Gifts from surplus income
Regular gifts from your income, not your savings, are exempt straight away, with no limit. You must still be able to afford your usual living costs.
Trusts
A trust can move assets out of your estate while you keep a say in who benefits. Trusts have their own tax rules, so the type matters. Family Protection Trusts
Leaving the right things to the right people
A Will that leaves your home to your children or grandchildren keeps the extra home allowance. Leaving 10% to charity lowers the rate to 36%. Will writing
Business and farm relief
Qualifying business and farm assets can be passed on with full or half relief. The rules changed in April 2026. Protecting business assets
What’s changing
Two changes every Devon family should know about
If you made a plan before these changes, it’s worth checking it still does what you want.
April 2026
Business and farm relief capped
Full relief now applies to the first £2.5 million of qualifying business and farm assets. Above that, relief is 50%.
April 2027
Pensions start to count
For deaths from 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits count as part of your estate. Death-in-service payments are not included.
How we work with you
Three steps, with a written plan and fee before you decide
Michael Doctors has 27 years of estate planning experience and is a STEP Affiliate Member. He comes to you, anywhere in Devon and the South West, or meets by video.
1. A first conversation
We look at what you own and who you want to provide for, and tell you plainly whether you need to do anything.
2. Your written plan
A written summary with the options that suit your family, and the fee to put them in place.
3. Implemented then supported
First drafts are normally 10 working days from instructing our solicitors depending on workload. Signed documents usually take one to two months and sometimes longer depending on complexity and client approval of drafts. Registering trusts with HMRC takes some weeks, and the Land Registry can take 12 months or more after that.
Expert partners
We work with SRA-regulated solicitors, full STEP members and tax and trust specialists.
Michaels & Co is a specialist estate planning consultancy. Legal document drafting such as preparing trusts, applying for probate, HM Land Registry & HMRC work is carried out by our preferred partners, who are SRA-regulated solicitors, full STEP members and Tax & Trusts Corporations. All work submitted is compliance checked throughout the process through to delivery to you, the client.
★★★★★
“We were looking for advice on how best to secure our family home in Exmouth for our daughter and her children. Michael, working with a law firm, has helped us establish a bespoke Trust and new Wills which exactly fits our needs.”
Ian T.
Google review · Read all 24 reviews
Questions
Inheritance Tax questions, answered
These answers cover common questions about Inheritance Tax.
Can I leave my house to my children without paying Inheritance Tax?
Often yes. If your home passes to your children or grandchildren, you get an extra £175,000 allowance on top of your £325,000. A married couple can pass on up to £1 million tax-free. Above that, planning can reduce or remove the tax.
How can I avoid 40% Inheritance Tax?
Use every allowance you have and give gifts early. Regular gifts from spare income, trusts and leaving 10% to charity can all help too. The right mix depends on your family, which is what the first conversation is for.
Can I just give £100,000 to my son?
Yes. There’s no tax when you give it, and none at all if you live for 7 years afterwards. If you die within 7 years, it counts towards your estate, with less tax due on large gifts after 3 years.
How do HMRC know if I’ve given money away?
When you die, your executors must tell HMRC about gifts you made in the 7 years before. That’s why it helps to keep a simple record of what you give and when.
Do Trusts avoid Inheritance Tax?
Some do, but not all, and some have tax charges of their own. A trust needs to be the right type for what you want, set up correctly and registered with HMRC. We work with specialist solicitors to make sure it is.
What happens when the second parent dies?
When the first parent dies, everything left to the survivor is usually tax-free, and their unused allowances pass across. The tax normally falls due when the second parent dies, which is why planning together matters.
How much does Inheritance Tax advice cost?
You see a written plan and fee before you decide to go ahead.
Related: Family Protection Trusts Wills Care fee planning Lasting Powers of Attorney Deed of Variation
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