Adamski wrote:I'm going to give an opposing view that investing in art (and valuables) is a way of avoiding IHT.
An estate will typically put a notional value on contents ie £500, not actually list the goods.
HMRC can check your IHT return through their computer program, which will include records of bank accounts, investments and via the land registry. They'll have a detailed picture of our savings and investments from our tax returns if you qualify for them, and home ownership from the land registry.
But they are unlikely to rock up at your old address after you/we are gone searching for ipads, electronic goods, art, jewelry, gold coins, etc. and checking their ebay value.
So potentially having some valuables at home is a way around IHT (40%).
Although of course strictly speaking your descendants would disclose such items - I doubt many do, unless very high value.
When my first wife died which is nearly 25 years ago, my solicitor told me when he was completing the IHT forms that as it was a sizeable estate (it was well into seven figures), HMRC would be likely to ask about the value of any jewellery if we did not put something in against that. I suspect if you were to put £500 as the value of goods and chattels that would also elicit a query against most estates. In any case the discussion was about legitimately avoiding IHT not being knowingly dishonest.
Dod