I am obtaining a grant of Letters of Administration for a deceased who died in 1998. There is no IHT liability. Can anyone advise on which tax from i need to use as the IHT 205 only goes back to 2004?
Kind regards
Victoria Christie
Richard J Knaggs Solicitors LLP
As far as I recall if the estate qualified as an excepted estate in 1998 there would not have been an IHT form to complete and you simply dealt with the oath. Otherwise it would have been a full IHT return (IHT200). You will have to check the limits for excepted estates in 1998 as they would have been below the NRB figure.
Nigel Scase
Greene & Greene
It used to be that HMRC Inheritance tax held a supply of suitable forms and you could telephone them and they would tell you what was needed and send you the relevant forms. Whether or not this system still operates I cannot say.
Anthony Tahourdin
Herrington Carmichael LLP
If memory serves, the “simplified” procedure introduced and lauded by a certain Right Hon. Gordon Brown PC, MP in 2004 meant that many estates had to fill in a new 4-page account instead of adding a line or two to the Oath stating that the Gross estate did not exceed £X and the net estate did not exceed £Y and that no Inheritance Tax Account was required [I cannot now guarantee the precise wording, but will let you know if I find it]. I think X was the gross figure rounded up to the next £1,000; whilst Y was the net estate rounded up to the probate fee payable at the time [eg £10,000, £25,000 and £40,000].
During 1998 the IHT threshold was £215K up to 5th April then £223K; the Exempted estate limits were £180K and £200K.
Hope this helps - good luck Victoria
Kevin Mullen
What I can confirm is that if as a retired solicitor you are doing your own conveyancing you have to telephone HMRC, my esteemed Comrades, to procure a paper SDLT1. You are told it will come within 2-3 weeks. In fact it came within a few days. While HMRC may perceive that control is necessary and so the form cannot be downloaded, unless to someone licensed to carry on a reserved activity who is registered as an unpaid anti money laundering gatekeeper and has vertiginous minimum PI cover, the very least they can do is to carry out whatever security checks they deem essential and, if met, commit absolutely to a 2-3 day turnaround in that event.
While I am moderately in favour of free market capitalism, at least as an alternative to Momentum, its tendency towards monopoly is reprehensible, as is its total incomprehension of the concept of self-restraint.
And whatever the political system HMRC will remain in practice outside the control of HMG as Peter Harris describes in his latest tour de force for reasons I will set out in a comment on that posting.
Jack Harper