Tax and estates
Inheritance tax decides how much of your estate reaches the people you care about. These guides explain the allowances, the exemptions, the seven year rule on gifts and when your estate needs specialist advice.
Reviewed by the Estate Advisory Group editorial teamLegally reviewed: 13 August 2026Last updated: 13 August 2026
- Inheritance Tax and Wills ExplainedAn overview of how inheritance tax and your will interact, and the main allowances that reduce a bill.
- Does Making a Will Reduce Inheritance Tax?How the structure of a will affects inheritance tax, and what it cannot do on its own.
- What Is the Inheritance Tax Threshold?An explanation of the nil rate band, the residence nil rate band, and how transfers between spouses affect them.
- What Is the Residence Nil Rate Band?How the residence nil rate band works, who qualifies, and why it tapers away for larger estates.
- Inheritance Tax When Leaving Everything to a SpouseWhy leaving everything to a spouse is usually tax-free, and what to consider for the longer term.
- Inheritance Tax When Leaving a House to ChildrenHow inheritance tax applies when a home is left directly to children, and how the residence nil rate band helps.
- Are Gifts in a Will Subject to Inheritance Tax?How gifts made under a will are taxed, and the difference between will gifts and lifetime gifts.
- Are Gifts to Charity Free of Inheritance Tax?How charitable gifts are treated for inheritance tax, including the reduced 36% rate for larger legacies.
- Who Pays Inheritance Tax When Someone Dies?Who is responsible for paying inheritance tax, how it is reported, and the six-month payment deadline.
- How Is an Estate Valued for Inheritance Tax?A guide to how executors value an estate's assets and liabilities for inheritance tax purposes.
- Reporting Inheritance Tax After DeathMost estates must report to HMRC even where no inheritance tax is owed.
- The Seven Year Rule on Gifts ExplainedGifts made more than seven years before death are usually free of inheritance tax.
- Gifting Money Before Death: What You Need to KnowLifetime gifts can reduce inheritance tax, but rules and risks apply.
- Trusts in a Will: A Plain-English GuideA trust in your will can protect assets for beneficiaries, but needs careful drafting.
- Life Interest Trusts in a Will ExplainedA life interest trust can protect a spouse while preserving capital for children.
- Inheritance Tax for Unmarried CouplesUnmarried couples face inheritance tax exposure that married couples do not.
- Downsizing and Inheritance Tax: What Happens?Selling the family home does not have to mean losing the residence nil rate band.
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Other guidance
- Make a willEverything you need to make a will in England and Wales: what a will does, what it costs, whether you can write your own and what makes it legally valid.
- Signing and witnessingHow to sign and witness a will correctly in England and Wales, who can act as a witness and the mistakes that stop a will taking effect.
- Executors and beneficiariesChoosing executors, naming beneficiaries, leaving property, money and possessions, and what happens to a gift if a beneficiary dies before you.
- Wills and familyWills for parents, married and unmarried couples, mirror wills, guardians, and how marriage, divorce and separation affect an existing will.
- Will guidesWhat happens if you die without a will, the intestacy rules, when to update a will, how to change one and whether you need a solicitor.
- Inheritance and giftsWho you can leave your estate to, leaving everything to one person, unequal shares between children, grandchildren, friends and the age children inherit.
- Property and willsWhat happens to a home when you die: joint tenants and tenants in common, leaving your share, mortgages, and whether an unmarried partner inherits.
- What happens when you dieWhat happens to bank accounts, joint accounts, pensions, ISAs and savings when someone dies, and how a will changes who ultimately benefits.
- Digital assetsWhat happens to your phone, email, social media, photos, online accounts and cryptocurrency when you die, and how to cover them in your will.
- Pets and willsWhat happens to your pet when you die, how to include a pet in your will, leaving money for their care and gifts to animal charities.
- Business ownersMaking a will if you own a business: company shares, sole trader businesses, partnership interests and what happens when an owner dies.
- Life eventsWhen to make or update a will: buying a home, moving in together, marriage, a new baby, travelling abroad, retirement and later life.
- Online willsMaking a will online in England and Wales: what it costs, fixed fee will writing, online versus DIY wills, and how quickly you can get one done.
- Gifts and wishesLeaving jewellery, cars, heirlooms and cash gifts in a will, giving different gifts to different people, and recording funeral and cremation wishes.
- Blended familiesWills for second marriages and blended families: stepchildren, children from a previous relationship, grandchildren and protecting a partner and children together.
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