Understanding the tax-efficient incentives that are available now can help reduce future tax liabilities.
Mitigating Inheritance Tax liabilities
A record high of over £4.8 billion was raised by HMRC from Inheritance Tax (IHT) in 2016-2017. Although the Chancellor left IHT unchanged in the Budget, recent rising property values and favourable investment portfolio returns have left many people concerned that a substantial percentage of their estate could be lost for future generations through IHT.
New legislation which commenced in April 2017 will mean that, over time, an individual’s home may not be chargeable to inheritance tax. However, understanding the tax-efficient incentives that are available now to help reduce future tax liabilities and payments can help you protect your estate. One area worth exploring is a discretionary Alternative Investment Market (AIM) portfolio service invested in direct securities or shares.
How does the service work?
AIM provides a market for smaller, emerging global companies with the goal of expansion. While AIM-listed companies can be more volatile, high risk high reward investments, AIM can offer considerable tax benefits versus main market alternatives. Not only can you access a global community of innovative businesses that may have sustainable growth potential, you can also take advantage of tax-efficient incentives that could considerably reduce future inheritance tax liabilities and payments.
The principal incentive is Business Property Relief: after being held for two years or more, certain qualifying AIM shares are eligible for 100% Business Property Relief, so they are effectively no longer taken into account as part of an estate asset for Inheritance Tax calculations.
Helping you protect your estate
While AIM stocks can be appealing, it’s important to consult with an expert as your investments can go down as well us up. We provide a portfolio service that aims to provide medium term benefits, diversify risk as far as reasonably possible, and – crucially – mitigate tax liabilities.
We also work with you to establish how much involvement you would like in the day to day running of your portfolio, as we provide a range of services for investors. With our discretionary management service, we fully manage the portfolio on your behalf, controlling the day-to-day decisions.
In contrast, with our execution only approach, our telephone and internet services provide quick and easy dealing for those investors comfortable making their own investment decisions. We also provide advisory service options as alternatives.
The Walker Crips team in York has been providing specialist wealth management, pensions planning and investment advice to individuals and small companies for more than 35 years, and has been part of The Walker Crips Group, one of the City of London’s most established independent companies, since 2005.
We’d love to help you find out whether your portfolio could benefit from our IHT mitigation services. Contact us on 01904 544300 to arrange a meeting with a member of our investment team or alternatively visit our website www.wcgplc.co.uk or follow us on twitter at @walkercrips for more information.
