15th December 2008
Getting proper advice on inheritance tax (IHT) is vital to ensure you avoid an unnecessary IHT burden, people planning their pensions may be interested to know.

According to research from Standard Life, many people are still in the dark about IHT as nearly three out of five people are unaware of new rules and the tax implications.

Nearly two thirds of people do not know that an IHT exemption exists for gifts made from left over income, despite being more than a year since the introduction of the IHT transferable nil rate band.

The research highlights the lack of awareness of the "benefits of thorough estate planning", says Julie Hutchison, head of estate planning at Standard Life.

"It is disappointing that despite extensive media coverage of the new transferable nil rate band, the changes introduced last October have not been fully understood by the majority of people," she said.

Almost a quarter of people in the UK plan to leave money to charity in their will despite the credit crunch, according to Standard Life.



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