Budget 2011: Lower rate of inheritance tax

It was announced in the Budget that anybody leaving 10 per cent or more of their estate to charity will pay a lower rate of inheritance tax on the remainder of their estate from April 2012 onwards. The inheritance tax rate in such circumstances will be 36 per cent instead of the usual 40 per cent.

The previously announced freeze in the nil-rate band at the 2009-10 level of £325,000 remains. It is expected to remain at that level up to and including the 2014-15 tax year, after which it will be raised in line with the CPI inflation measure.