Complex rules around gifting to charity could leave an unexpected tax bill

In 2022, almost 37,000 estates included a gift to charity. Gifting to charity is a well known strategy for minimising an Ineritance Tax bill, but recent case law shows the importance of getting your will professionally drawn up to ensure there are no nasty surprises for your loved ones. You may recently have read about Caroline Burke who thought that a will left by her aunt left money equally between charities and other beneficiaries. Unfortunately the will had not stated who should pay the inheritance tax. Silence on this point meant that the beneficiaries did not inherit equally – instead the inheritance tax came out of the shares which did not include the charities, meaning the charities received more than the others.

Gifts to charities are exempt from inheritance tax, so when an estate is divided equally between charities and non-charities, the entire inheritance tax comes out of the non-charities’ shares, unless the will specifically states otherwise. Many people leave money to charity and it is a nice way of doing good while reducing the tax payable. However, without careful consideration it could result in the charities receiving more than intended. That is not to say don’t leave to charity; in some circumstances not only is the gift to charity inheritance tax free, but leaving some of your estate to charity can result in the tax on the rest of your estate being reduced from 40 per cent to 36 per cent.

If you are considering leaving money to charity in your will, it is important take legal advice. Trethowans can help with this, please call us on 0800 2800 421 or get in touch here.

Deepest Wiltshire books support important local charities with more than £30,000

Three Wiltshire charities have received a total of £11,000 –proceeds of the sale of Deepest Wiltshire, the second in the Deepest Books series by Gay Pirrie-Weir and Fanny Charles. Wiltshire Air Ambulance and the military charity SSAFA each received £5,000 and there was also a donation of £1,000 to the Salisbury Hospice. The book is a portrait of the county looking at its history, how and where people work and live, the army, food and farming, the arts and Salisbury Cathedral. These donations follow the £20,000 already given to Wiltshire Community Foundation for the Covid Recovery Fund, bringing the total so far raised by the book to £31,000.

The work being funded

The donation to SSAFA has come at a critical time, says Simon McNeill-Ritchie, the charity’s regional fundraising officer, ‘as we try to fund another casework support officer for Wiltshire. Each case we help, on average, costs about £250, so your contribution will help us to help 20 veterans and their families to turn their lives around.’

It costs £4 million a year to keep Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s lifesaving service operational –that is around £11,000 per day. The charity relies on donations to continue saving lives – like all air ambulance services it receives no regular direct government funding or Lottery grants.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance operates up to 19 hours a day, every day, says Cas Loudon, the senior community engagement and volunteer officer.

On average, it is called to three incidents a day in its helicopter and two critical care cars. In 2022 it undertook 1,061 missions. The air ambulance paramedics are trained in critical care skills and, together with the specialist medical equipment they use, they are able to provide gold standard medical care to patients. The service was further improved in November 2021, when the number of pre-hospital consultant shifts was increased.

Every donation helps Alex Oram, community fundraiser for Salisbury Hospicecare Trust, says the funds from Deepest Wiltshire will be put to excellent use in helping Salisbury Hospice to provide the specialist palliative care that means so much to so many in our community. ‘Provision of this service is only made possible by the support we receive from generous local people. Every donation really does go a long way towards helping us plan for the future and of course to continue to support the vital work of the hospice and its community teams.’

One recent event – the collection of Christmas trees – raised more than £24,500, ‘which was fantastic and thanks to the huge support we receive from those in the community, and our wonderful team of volunteers,’ says Alex.

• Deepest Wiltshire is available to order from deepestbooks.co.uk or email info@deepestbooks.co.uk

Wayne

I am writing this in Febuary and it still feels cold enough to enjoy a good fire – and of course some good reading matter to keep us happy until the Spring thaw. I have selected two books this month, both are perfect distractions from the cold weather. Wayne

Teller of the Unexpected: The Life of Roald Dahl Mathew Dennison (£20)

Given all the press coverage around sensitivity readers “improving the text” of the great children’s writer Roald Dahl I thought readers maybe curious about the man himself.

Roald Dahl was one of the world’s greatest storytellers. He conceived his vocation as one as intrepid as that of any explorer and, in his writing for children, he was able to tap into a child’s viewpoint throughout his life. He crafted tales that were exotic in scenario, frequently invested with a moral, and filled with vibrant characters that endure in public imagination to the present day. In this brand-new biogrpahy, Matthew Dennison re-evaluates the received narrative surrounding Dahl - that of school sporting hero, daredevil pilot, and wartime spy-turnedauthor - and examines surviving primary resources as well as Dahl’s extensive literary output to tell the story of a man who identified as a rule-breaker, an iconoclast and a romantic, both insider and outsider, hero and child’s friend.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (£10)

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.

But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Forced to resign, she reluctantly signs on as the host of a cooking show, Supper at Six. But her revolutionary approach to cooking, fuelled by scientific and rational commentary, grabs the attention of a nation. Soon, a legion of overlooked housewives find themselves daring to change the status quo. One molecule at a time

‘The most charming, life-enhancing novel I’ve read in ages. Strongly recommend’ India Knight

(I would also mention that it’s not actually about chemistry! This book was my absolute favourite read of 2022, I strongly recommend it too – Ed)