Complete guide to how British inheritance tax works - rates, exemptions, and planning strategies for 2024-25

How British Inheritance Tax Works 2025

Here’s something nobody tells you at dinner parties: roughly one in twenty estates in Britain gets walloped by inheritance tax. That’s it. Just 5% or so. Yet somehow, the panic around British inheritance tax creates more anxiety than a root canal appointment. I’ve watched people lose sleep over tax bills that’ll never materialise, whilst others […]

British country estate representing wealth and inheritance tax planning in England under new 2025 residence-based rules

Inheritance Tax in England: Latest Rules

Here’s something nobody tells you at dinner parties: inheritance tax in England has undergone the most dramatic transformation in decades, and if you’re still operating under the old domicile rules, you’re planning with yesterday’s map. I’ve spent the better part of twenty years explaining tax to people who’d rather discuss root canals. But this? This is different. […]

UK small business employer reviewing workplace pension auto enrolment requirements and provider options at desk

Auto Enrolment Guide for Small Employers

Here’s something nobody tells you when you’re starting out: hiring your first employee transforms you from a business owner into a pension provider overnight. Quite the promotion, isn’t it? I remember chatting with a café owner in Wimbledon last year—brilliant baker, made these ridiculous cinnamon buns that had queues out the door—who’d just taken on […]

Split image comparing chaotic manual bookkeeping with receipts and spreadsheets versus organised cloud accounting software dashboard for UK small businesses

Accounting and Bookkeeping for Busy Owners

Here’s the thing nobody tells you when you start a business: accounting and bookkeeping will haunt you at 2 AM. Not in some dramatic, existential way. More like that niggling sensation that you’ve forgotten something crucial whilst lying in bed—except what you’ve forgotten is three months of receipts shoved into a carrier bag under your […]

Stressed man facing an HMRC deadline contrasted with a relaxed client using cloud software with a tax accountant near me

Tax Accountant Near Me for Hassle-Free Returns

Here’s something nobody tells you about tax returns: the difference between doing them yourself and having a proper tax accountant near me handle them isn’t just convenience. It’s the gap between overpaying HMRC by £2,000 and actually keeping that money in your pocket. I remember chatting with a mate who’d been filing his own returns […]

Illustration of UK succession tax showing a weighing scale with a family home on one side and £325,000 with HMRC coins on the other, symbolising the inheritance tax threshold.

Succession Tax Explained: What It Means for Your Estate

Right, let’s address the elephant in the room straightaway: there’s technically no such thing as “succession tax” in the UK. Not officially, anyway. What we’re actually talking about when someone mentions succession tax is Inheritance Tax (IHT) – though you’ll occasionally hear old-timers refer to it as “death duty,” which sounds properly Victorian but hasn’t been the […]

Illustration of a golden inheritance tree shedding money into a tax tray, symbolising hereditary tax in the UK.

What Is Hereditary Tax? Full UK Guide

Here’s something that trips up most people: hereditary tax doesn’t actually exist – at least not in the way you’d think from the name. What we’re really talking about here is inheritance tax, sometimes called death duties by people who remember when that phrase actually meant something official. The confusion? Completely understandable. “Hereditary” sounds like something that passes […]

“The 40% Bite” — Visual Metaphor Scene: A house icon shaped like a pie chart 40% slice cut out (in red) Remaining 60% in neutral tones Title overlay: “Inheritance Tax Explained”

Inherent Tax vs Inheritance Tax: What’s the Difference?

Here’s a confession: if you’ve been Googling “inherent tax” in a panic at 2am because someone mentioned it at a dinner party and you nodded along knowingly—you’re not alone. Plot twist? There’s no such thing as inherent tax. But there’s absolutely such a thing as inheritance tax, and that’s what people actually mean when they fumble […]

Business owner comparing advice from a regular accountant and a chartered accountant in the UK.

Chartered Professional Accountant vs Regular Accountant: What It Really Means in the UK

Here’s something nobody tells you when you’re desperately Googling “find accountant near me” at 11 PM before your tax deadline: the person who eventually saves your financial bacon might be called exactly the same thing as someone who can’t legally audit your books. Confusing? Absolutely. But that’s the reality of hiring a chartered professional accountant […]