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If I do not survive for seven years will my estate be liable for inheritance tax on the gift as well?

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If I do not survive for seven years will my estate be liable for inheritance tax on the "gift" as well? AC, Hadleigh.A: Jonathan Riley, tax partner at accountant Grant Thornton, says: "You are correct that this disposal could lead to two bites of the cherry for Gordon Brown. To the extent that the market value at disposal exceeds the price you paid for the flat, you will be liable to capital gains tax on the discount you 'give' your daughter."You cannot claim private residence relief because the flat was not your residence. If you are married, you could gift half the flat to your wife tax-free and your wife could gift that on to your daughter. This would utilise two annual exemptions, yours and your wife's. You might also gift the flat to your daughter over two or more tax years to utilise more than one annual exemption."The second bite potentially is from inheritance tax.

IHT could arise on the difference between the market value of the flat and the amount your daughter pays if you die within seven years of the flat passing to her. There is an annual gift exemption for inheritance tax purposes of £3,000 which can be carried forward one year if unused.If your daughter plans to marry, you could utilise the £5,000 exemption for a marriage gift by a parent. There is no relief for offsetting the capital gains tax paid by you against any potential inheritance tax payable by your daughter, because the taxes fall on different persons. The transfer of the flat could also be liable to stamp duty, depending on the amount paid. The tax charges could be avoided or reduced with careful planning and the possible use of a trust."Q: Further to recent letters on the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (Questions of Cash, 8 and 22 March), what is the position if you have a flexible mortgages, with linked mortgage and savings? Would the savings element be treated independently, meaning the saver does not get full compensation? TM, by e-mail.A: It depends on the type of flexible mortgage you have, whether there is a single balance, or separate "pots" for mortgage and savings.

With The One Account (formerly Virgin One), you have an overall balance and no separate figure for savings. This means that should the bank cease trading and be unable to meet its liabilities, you would be a debtor to the company for the net amount and the question of compensation for your savings would not arise.If you had an offset account of the type offered by Intelligent Finance, the mortgage debt and savings assets are treated as separate accounts. This means the deposit is liable for compensation at the rate of 100 per cent on the first £2,000 and 90 per cent of the rest, up to a maximum of £33,000.Paradoxically, you are actually better off where the compensation scheme does not come into play because the value of the mortgage debt is reduced in full This is probably a matter of theoretical relevance only. The One Account is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Intelligent Finance is part of the Halifax Bank of Scotland group.. Up to 32 million of us are likely to choose deposit accounts as the place to invest £5,000 for one year, and 13 million people are planning to save more this year, the findings of a major survey in to UK savings habits show today. It found men are more likely to save than women, with 31 per cent of men saying they would increase their savings in the next few months, although only 26 per cent of women intended to.Sixteen per cent of people preferred investments linked to house-price movements. Only 12 per cent would turn to the stock market-related investments, and pessimism towards the future market returns is prevailing.

About the same number of people, 16 per cent, believe the market will rise within months, but 45 per cent expect further declines. People see the stock market as a long-term bet, with almost a fifth saying they would invest for a 10-year period in equities.Women are more risk-averse, with 74 per cent preferring a building society/bank savings account, only 9 per cent preferring equities. About 62 per cent of men will plump for a savings account and 15 per cent will go into equities.Despite the dramatic falls in the stock market, UK households are getting richer, Halifax reckoning household wealth rose by £21bn in 2002. This can largely be attributed to higher house prices, which offset the £485bn fall in equity investments in 2002.

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