I have a question about the scope of s.22 IHTA 1984. Can a parent of one party to a marriage/civil partnership (CP) give £5,000 to their own child and a further gift to their son/daughter-in-law of either £2,500 [s.22(2)(b)] or maybe £1,000 [s.22(1)]?
S.22(1) expressly states one transferor and one marriage, which suggests not. But it would be helpful to understand why “parent” is included within the wording of s.22(2)(b) (with apologies if this should be obvious). Are parents included:
- as the starting point to understand ‘remoter ancestor’?
- because a parental gift on settlement would be limited to £2,500 rather than £5,000?
- because a parent of one party can give £2,500 to the other party (the son/daughter-in-law)? Suggesting the transferor is giving to a specific person rather than “the marriage” and might indicate a gift made as parent can be treated separately to a gift made as parent-in-law.
At IHTM14191 HMRC refer to a gift being made to “one or both parties”, but this may refer to the requirement for the transferee to be a party to the marriage rather than someone unconnected.
Thanks