Wanting to pass on wealth and assets is a natural instinct for many and is one of the simplest ways of reducing the value of an estate for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes.

However, research by HMRC has revealed widespread confusion on the rules and tax implications surrounding gifts and the reliefs available. Of the 2,090 individuals surveyed, only 45 percent were aware of the tax implications surrounding lifetime gifts and just 12.5 percent had gifted money or assets within the last two years.

In July 2019, the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) published its second review of IHT, setting out far-reaching proposals to a...