Hi everyone,
I am dealing with an estate where residential property has been formally valued and accepted by HMRC for IHT purposes. IHT has been calculated and paid.
The Executors have since sold the property at auction for £20k less than the date of death value and the question has arisen as to whether we should file an IHT38 claim. The concern is the fact that the property was sold at auction and not tested on the open market.
I am wondering whether a claim is therefore appropriate, given question 3 of the form which states *‘Were any sale prices less than the best price you could reasonably have obtained at the date of sale’. I am not convinced that the sale price is necessarily the best price, given that the property wasn’t tried on the open market.
Just wondering whether anyone has dealt with a similar situation and whether the view is that an IHT38 should not be submitted at all, or that it should be submitted and leave it to HMRC to make the decision based on the facts.
Thanks!