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Can I Avoid Inheritance Tax by Giving My Assets to My Children?

Shared from Tax Insider: Can I Avoid Inheritance Tax by Giving My Assets to My Children?
By Tristan Noyes, July 2025

Tristan Noyes looks at some inheritance tax planning techniques with the family home and rental properties.  

A question often asked is: “Can I give all my assets to my children and avoid inheritance tax (IHT)?”.  

The short answer is yes, but to avoid the tax, you need to live seven years from the gift and cannot benefit from the asset after the gift. If you continue to ‘enjoy’ the gifted assets, this is treated as a gift with reservation of benefit (GROB) and remains in your estate for IHT purposes.  

Family home 

Due to the GROB anti-avoidance rules, it is therefore not possible to simply transfer your home to your children and continue to live there.  

Nor could you give a rental property to your children but continue to receive the rental income.  

In either scenario, the property

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