What is included in the £3,000 worth of gifts allowed in a person's 'annual exemption'?

newNannie2023

I think being able to give your own children only £3k a year tax free is ridiculous. My ex has just given our children large amounts to help with deposits to buy their homes. If he dies within 7 years I understand tax will be liable but who will know apart from him, myself and our children? We divorced years ago and our finances are totally separate.

The banks, solicitors perhaps.

It would have to be declared if he did die within the 7 years because, if found out, there could be fines to pay as well as IHT if his total estate was above the exemption limit.

I agree that £3,000 is very low and has not increased for years, since 1981 in fact when £3,000 might have been a good deposit for a small house.
There are constant complaints that young people cannot get on to the housing ladder yet those parents who could afford to help their DC towards a deposit are unable to do so with the restrictions in place.

If you drew out some money in cash (and then gave it to anyone, or spent the lot yourself or put it down the nearest drain) who would ever know? The amount would show on your bank statement of course but how would anyone know how you'd spent it or to whom you'd given it?

We , also gifted a deposit for a house, we’ve still got 4years left before we can die! Like jusnoneed we did it all by the book.
Sorry I can’t answer the OP’s question but if you donate to a crowdfunding site surely the tax would be for the recipient to pay?

newNannie2023 I gifted my son some money towards his deposit last year and I had to fill in a letter for the bank he is getting his mortgage from to confirm it was a gift and not a loan. They do check applicants bank statements so any large amount is questioned.

I agree £3000 is too low a limit these days, it doesn't buy much. Of course when people used cash you could pass over funds much easier!

When he dies, it will be the responsibiity of the executor of his estate to discover what gift have been made An executor must sign a declaration to say that everything has been declared just as one would when making a personal tax return.

An executor can be held personally liable for any mistakes and underpayments of revenue so it is vital that they make the necessary enquiries into lifetime gifts. HMRC can impose financial penalties when gifts are not declared correctly and the executors may be liable to pay these penalties themselves.

HMRC will come after the recipient of the gift if it was not disclosed to the executor.

In Hutchings v HMRC [2015], the deceased’s son failed to declare a lifetime gift of £440,000 despite the executors asking for confirmation of any gifts the family had received. In this case, HMRC demanded the additional Inheritance Tax of £47,000 plus a penalty of £87,000. The executors were found to have made reasonable enquiries and therefore, the penalty was payable by the son as he had deliberately withheld this information from both the executors and HMRC.

I think being able to give your own children only £3k a year tax free is ridiculous. My ex has just given our children large amounts to help with deposits to buy their homes. If he dies within 7 years I understand tax will be liable but who will know apart from him, myself and our children? We divorced years ago and our finances are totally separate.

Thanks everyone for the helpful information.
Apologies Silberbrooks, I misread the site name!

I actually called HMRC to ask about a tax issue. It wasn't about gifts, but it was about volunteering. I wanted to help my daughter out in her business but I didn't want her to pay me a wage because of have g to fill in a 60 page self assessment. I ask if I volunteered for a private business and they paid me travel (petrol) expenses would I need to declare it. They were very helpful and explained in detail what I could and couldn't except. They didn't ask my name or address at all. Obviously they could have probably traved me from my mobile number I suppose.

Colls Aside from your annual allowance you can make payments from your income. I normally make go fund me payments of up to £100 and this would not be from savings but normal income.

The MoneyHelper site (that's not Martin Lewis) says you can give as many gifts of up to £250 to as many individuals as you want - although not to anyone who has already received a gift of your whole £3,000 annual exemption. None of these gifts are subject to Inheritance Tax.

The RossMartin site says of crowdfunding:

From an Inheritance Tax (IHT) perspective, the contribution is likely to be a potentially exempt transfer. See IHT: Transfers of Value. It is possible that the contribution would be exempt from IHT, if it fell within the annual exemption or small gifts exemption, see IHT: Gifts.

Thank you Silverbrooks,
I have seen the Martin Lewis page - first point of call for any financial problems!
And the Rossmartin is indeed on topic, but sadly, neither answer my question.
Rossmartin is mainly focussed on investments, backers etc and I am trying to find out if amounts paid to Go Fund Me type appeals are counted towards the £3,000 if the person asking is a friend and not a charity.
I think it seems to be impossible to find out without specifically asking an accountant.
But thank you.

MoneyHelper is very good on this:

www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/death-and-bereavement/gifts-and-exemptions-from-inheritance-tax

This deals with crowdfunding:

www.rossmartin.co.uk/income-claims-reliefs/2909-crowdfunding