Inheritance tax share loss relief

Key points

• Inheritance tax rules allow relief in cases where asset values were higher at the date of someone’s death than when their personal representatives come to sell them.
• The relief which enables substitution of the value actually realised instead of the value at the date of death is found in IHTA 1984 s 178 to s 189.
• The shares sold must be qualifying assets – gilts fall within this definition.
• The claim is made by submitting form IHT35 to HMRC.
• If someone dies with qualifying investments in both their personal estate and an interest in possession trust of which they are the income beneficiary share loss relief can be claimed in both (or either).

Volatility in the markets is nothing new but in recent months we have seen turmoil not just for equities but also less usually for gilts. At such times ...