Succession planning & inheritance tax

The CLA provides a range of resources to assist its members in their succession planning journey to:

• Make the process go as smoothly as it can
• Keep down the cost to members
• Help members to find a solution that works for them, their business and their family, in a tax-efficient manner.

See below for an overview of all those resources, designed for members concerned about their inheritance tax position, or who want to plan for succession.

Check out our online hub featuring the latest news, developments and CLA analysis on the 2024 autumn budget, including how we are advocating your interests to the government, MPs and the media.

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Important note

Please note that the changes to Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs will be subject to consultation, and are not due to come into effect until April 2026. There is time to consider your tax position, and the CLA will be making strong representations to the Treasury on your behalf.

Check out our frequently asked question article on what the changes to inheritance reliefs mean. Questions answered include:

• What has the government announced in relation to IHT reliefs?
• There's confusion over the number of farms that will be affected. How is the 70,000 farms figure calculated?
• I heard on the radio that the allowance is actually £3m, and not £1m. Is this true?
• Can I use insurance to mitigate the inheritance tax (IHT) liability?
• Can I reduce my IHT liability by making gifts?
• Can I make last-minute (so-called ‘deathbed’) gifts to increase my IHT allowances?
• Does transferring assets to a company remove them from my taxable estate?
• Can I take out a mortgage on my property to reduce the value of my taxable estate for IHT purposes?
• Would my executor have to pay capital gains tax when assets are sold to fund the IHT bill?
• Can the IHT bill be paid by instalments and will interest need to be paid?

Read the article >

The best place to start is by watching a two-part webinar series where the CLA tax team talks through the practical, tax and legal considerations, using illustrative case studies.

Each of the case studies considers different family circumstances, how the inheritance tax rules apply to them and what succession planning options are available.

More detailed guidance is available on a range of issues relating to inheritance tax and succession planning.

• In Focus: Agricultural & Business Property Relief explained
  This article explains these two crucial inheritance tax reliefs, and the conditions applicable to them.
• Guidance Note 20-11: Notes on IHT Agricultural Property Relief for farmhouses
  If you have a farmhouse on which you would like to be able to claim agricultural property relief, this guidance note will explain the conditions.
• Guidance Note 07-21: Grazing Licences, Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief
  Many members have their land grazed by livestock belonging to another farmer. This can potentially be more complicated from an inheritance tax perspective.  This guidance note highlights the key issues you need to consider in relation to maintaining the available inheritance tax reliefs.

• In Focus: Capital Gains Tax and Reliefs Explained
  If you are considering making a gift of an asset, or selling something, you should consider capital gains tax.  This article explains the tax and the various reliefs that might apply.

• GN15-18 Forestry, Woodlands and Tax
  If you are conducting forestry, or have woods on your farm, this article will explain the tax treatment, including for inheritance tax.

For the most in-depth coverage of particular topics, the CLA produces handbooks.

CLA members can purchase these for a reduced price. The full range is available here.

Of course, no handbook can be a substitute for bespoke advice, such as from your own solicitors, accountants and financial planners. The CLA’s tax team can assist you with personal succession planning advice (see further below). However, with the benefit of the information in this handbook, those conversations will be more productive.

Here are the most relevant handbooks to inheritance tax and succession planning:

Handbook CLA94 – Succession Planning
This handbook provides relevant and practical guidance to faming and landowning families (and their advisers) who are making or reviewing their plans.
The first chapters introduce the concept of succession planning, set out the first steps on the process, and cover some of the initial considerations such as the needs and goals of each generation involved.
The handbook then looks at considerations specific to different types of business structure, relevant tax considerations, and the legal documents that may be needed, including partnership agreements, company documents, tenancies, wills, lasting powers of attorney and trusts.
If you are a landowner, this handbook will equip you to start the process and understand what you need to do and what you will need to think about. If you are advising landowning families, the handbook will provide you with an overview of the key considerations across different disciplines and a handy reference for the tax and legal issues that arise in succession planning.

Handbook CLA96 - Business structures for farms and rural businesses
This handbook provides an overview of the different types of business structure that might be used by CLA members.

Handbook CLA93 – Partnerships – law, tax and accounting
CLA members often run their business as a partnership. This handbook brings together different aspects of legal principles, tax law and accounting practice, affecting partnership businesses.

Handbook CLA95 - The taxation of furnished holiday accommodation
This handbook provides a guide for members seeking to understand the intricacies of the tax rules surrounding furnished holiday let (FHL) businesses. Although the FHL tax rules will be abolished for income tax and capital gains tax from April 2025, the relevant inheritance tax case laws relating to holiday lets will still be relevant.

If you are a CLA member entitled to bespoke advice, the CLA tax team can assist with your tax questions and provide advice on your succession planning.

However, we are currently dealing with much higher levels of enquiries than normal, and given the lobbying work that the team is doing in connection with the 2024 Autumn Budget, it may take a few weeks for us to get back to you.  So, please check whether the resources provided above can answer your question.

If not, please call 0207 235 0511 or email advice@cla.org.uk. The more detail you can provide of your specific query and the relevant context, the quicker this can be allocated to the most appropriate member of the team to assist.

If you would like to discuss your options for succession planning, this article explains how we can assist. Again, please provide as much information as possible in advance to help us provide you with the most accurate and relevant advice. Please call 0207 235 0511 or email advice@cla.org.uk to obtain the questionnaire used to start this process.