I have a flat in London worth around £500,000. I moved about five years ago to Weymouth, where I'm running a bed and breakfast (B&B) establishment, which is a commercial premises where I live in a small part of it. I want to leave the flat in London to my daughter in my will to gain the extra £175,000 of IHT nil-rate band for residences, so nothing will need to be paid on the flat. I do not have another home as a residential premises – the B&B is leasehold too, but as a commercial property doesn’t get hit by IHT. So can I designate my London flat as my home, since it's the only residential home that I own? 

Arthur Weller replies: 

Since this flat has been occupied as your main residence, and you are leaving it when you die to your daughter, the estate should be eligible to the IHT residence nil-rate band (RNRB) (see HMRC’s Inheritance Tax Manual at IHTM46011 and IHTM46031), even though you don't now live in the property. There is no requirement for a claim to be made for RNRB, except if there is more than one property that the deceased has occupied as their residence (see IHTM46004).