Gifts, when still alive, made to friends family etc are subject to £3,000 per year tax free and there is a sliding 7 year scale rule for gifts above this amount. Charitable gifts made as part of a will are only free of IHT if they don't amount to more than 10% of the total estate value. And, again, there is some sort of sliding scale/reduction for amounts greater than that. Btw, during this research I discovered gifts in a will made for 'National Purposes' e.g. The National Gallery, British Museum, The Fleet Air Arm Museum etc qualify for IHT exemption. However what I can't find out is the IHT implications of making charitable donations whilst you are still alive to reduce your estate's value below the IHT limit. I realise you can make donations via Gift Aid which provides tax advantages to both yourself & the charity, but are these donations subject to the £3,000 yearly limit or perhaps have their own specific restrictions?
