Benefits of trusts: Inheritance tax planning for business owners
Many business owners focus on business taxes whilst running their companies and as a result, their personal circumstances often get overlooked. Inheritance tax planning at any age can be seen as something to do next week or next year, but advance planning can have benefits for the business and the owner.
In the first article in our series of blogs on inheritance tax we looked at lifetime giving. Conducted over many years, lifetime giving can have a significant impact in reducing the value of an estate for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes. In addition or as an alternative to making lifetime gifts to individuals, outright gifts can be made onto trust. Such gifts (which can include shares in a business) can provide the settlor with some control over how the gifted funds are invested and who is able to benefit from the income. This is because a trust’s investments are managed by the trustees on behalf of the beneficiaries, and as settlor you can also choose to be one of the trustees. Establishing a trust can also enable you to ‘ring-fence’ assets within a family.
Lesley Stalker wrote about the benefits of trusts for business owners, explaining the important terminology and associated tax implications for Businesszone this month: read her article.