Is it me, or is HMRC’s IHT38 form incorrect?
I have just been researching on the potential for a claim on loss on sale of land which I felt had various complications in any event, due to appropriation of the majority of it, sale to a father etc.
On checking S.191 IHTA 1984 the time limit for a sale seems to be 3 years to me unless I am missing some update to the legislation but all sources I have looked at say there are no updates outstanding.
(1) Where—
(a) an interest in land is comprised in a person’s estate immediately before his death and is sold by the appropriate person within the period of three years immediately following the date of the death, and
(b) the appropriate person makes a claim under this Chapter stating the capacity in which he makes it,
the value for the purposes of this Act of that interest and of any other interest in land comprised in that estate and sold within that period by the person making the claim acting in the same capacity shall, subject to the following provisions of this Chapter, be its sale value.
[(1A) A claim under this Chapter must be made not more than 4 years after the end of the period mentioned in subsection (1)(a).]
HMRC’s own tax manual seems to agree with this.
So, my understanding is that the sale (exchange) must be within 3 years of death, and the claim must be within 4 years of the end of that period, i.e. 7 years.
BUT page 1 of Form IHT38 states:
To qualify for relief the sale must have been made within 4 years of the date of death and a claim submitted 7 years from the date of death.
All views welcome, but it seems to me that either I am missing some update to the legislation, or HMRC’s own Claim form is wrong !
My sale is over 3 years from death.
Thank you
Tracy