HMRC to pursue suspected inheritance tax underpayments

HMRC is set to pursue a number of wealthy people that it believes to have under calculated inheritance tax.

The amount that the tax body thinks has been underpaid could be nearly £400 million. This is for the last tax year and represents an increase of 14% on the total for the year before. Back then, wealthy people paid £344 million less inheritance tax than they owed. According to TWM Solicitors, HMRC is determined to claw back as much as it can.

Duncan Mitchell-Innes works for TWM as its Private Client and Partner Deputy Head. He was quoted by IFA Magazine as saying:

“The IHT rules can be complicated and, for executors trying to complete the IHT return without professional help, there is scope for misunderstanding or not being aware of the rules, leading to an inadvertent underpayment of IHT.”

The most obvious solution to this problem is to recruit someone qualified in estate administration. This means Probate solicitors in North Wales or another part of the country.

Mitchell-Innes also highlighted the penalties HMRC can impose for inheritance tax errors. These can include fines and sizeable interest charges on top of the tax demands. The total sum that has to be paid can end up being very high.

The number of estates that are eligible for this tax is set to rise, due to reforms to the law. Pensions will now fall within its scope.

At Bennett Smith Solicitors, we are experts in estate Probate, including dealing with tax returns. Call our solicitors in Anglesey now to get started.