Richard Curtis considers some of the inheritance tax implications of parents helping their children pay mortgages.
The difficulties of affording a house and the potential for help from the ‘bank of mum and dad’ are often discussed. Parents may be willing to assist and this will commonly be by transferring money to children and because there is no ‘gift tax’ on such payments, it might be thought that this is the end of the matter. However, there may be inheritance tax (IHT) implications.
Generally, a gift of money will be a transfer of value and, subject to any available exemptions, it will
