BUDGET 2015: Chancellor George Osborne has introduced a new nil-rate band for passing on properties to descendants.
In a reform to the inheritance tax system the budget sets the nil-rate band at £100,000 in 2017-18, £125,000 in 2018-19, £150,000 in 2019-20, and £175,000 in 2020-21.
It will then increase in line with CPI from 2021-22 onwards.
There will also be a tapered withdrawal of the additional nil-rate band for estates with a net value of more than £2m. This will be at a withdrawal rate of £1 for every £2 over this threshold.
Jeremy Blackburn, RICS head of policy, said: “Measures to reassure downsizing baby boomers that they will not be penalised through their inheritance tax allowance are welcome, but more could be done to unlock second hand stock now. One such reform might be to incentivise the over 60s to downsize now by doubling their inheritance tax allowance on sale.”
