- home
- Inheritance Tax Mitigation Services
Inheritance Tax Mitigation Services
You didn’t spend 30+ years building assets just to have them reduced when you’re not here to protect them.
Inheritance tax isn’t a minor inconvenience. It’s a full-scale raid on your estate—one that can severely affect your children’s future if you don’t plan with accuracy and clarity. At Pearl Lemon Tax, we deliver direct, technical, and compliant solutions to people who care about what happens after they’re gone.
We work with business owners, landlords, high earners, professionals, and families across the UK—particularly those with assets valued above £500,000, where the stakes are higher and HMRC gets more aggressive.
Schedule a consultation — because delaying only increases the risk.
Our Inheritance Tax Mitigation Services
Inheritance tax is not about intent. It’s about structure. One misstep, and you could hand over up to 40% of your life’s work. We prevent that.
Here’s how:
Asset Freezing and Gifting Strategies
Using structured PETs (Potentially Exempt Transfers) and CLTs (Chargeable Lifetime Transfers), we map out a timeline for passing on value without triggering the 7-year rule penalties.
What we resolve:
- Gifting too late (leading to full tax exposure)
- Causing additional liabilities through poorly timed transfers
- Losing control over the asset prematurely
We prepare documentation that holds up in probate, accounting for taper relief and spousal exemptions, without questionable loopholes.
Trust Planning and Structuring
We don’t “set up a trust” and disappear. We build arrangements that reflect your intentions and meet HMRC rules. That means:
- Discretionary trusts to reduce total IHT liability
- Interest in possession trusts where income distribution requires oversight
- Family protection trusts for property with life tenancy clauses.
Why this matters:
Done properly, trust-based estate structuring can reduce or delay IHT by decades.
Done improperly, it causes a 20% lifetime charge and needless stress for your family.
Business Property Relief (BPR) Qualification
Own a limited company? You may qualify for up to 100% IHT relief under BPR—but only if your shareholding, trading status, and operational role are aligned.
We:
- Assess trading vs. non-trading assets in your business.
- Arrange share transfers to qualify for BPR while avoiding CGT.
- Align BPR and ER (Entrepreneurs’ Relief) wherever possible.
If you’ve been told you “might qualify,” we’ll tell you definitively—and set things up correctly if you don’t.
Agricultural Property Relief (APR) Planning
APR is complicated. From proving agricultural use to structuring tenancy agreements that satisfy HMRC, many advisers guess. We don’t.
We work with landowners to:
- Define eligible land and buildings
- Convert “hope value” into tax-free transfers.
- Structure tenancy agreements under AHA or FBT rules
This alone can remove IHT liability on agricultural property up to 100%.
Life Insurance Structuring (Outside the Estate)
Many people keep life insurance inside their estate, completely counterproductive. We transfer this into a proper trust so payouts aren’t added to your taxable assets.
We handle:
- Policy premium reviews
- Settling policies into discretionary trusts
- Reviewing ‘gift with reservation’ complications
When done right, this pays out fast, without increasing your estate’s tax burden.
Property Strategy and Asset Revaluation
We don’t just shuffle property—we conduct full title checks, CGT forecasting, and valuation analysis, applying the main residence nil rate band with all necessary paperwork.
Our method includes:
- Gifting property via a deed of variation
- Equity release when beneficial
- Joint ownership restructuring to prevent double taxation
We also help you claim the RNRB fully—most miss it, losing up to £175,000 in allowance.
Pensions & Investment Auditing
We examine SIPP and SSAS arrangements to verify whether your pension truly lies outside your estate.
Often it doesn’t—especially if nominations are missing or outdated.
Also included:
- Adjusting ISAs and GIAs for tax position accuracy
- Restructuring offshore bonds for IHT compliance
Identifying red flags in portfolios that appear efficient but aren’t
Full Probate Forecasting & Family Tax Planning
We run a thorough multi-year estimate of your estate’s future IHT burden, accounting for:
- Spouse survivorship
- Inflation
- Asset changes
- Gifting across time
You receive a step-by-step plan, complete paperwork, and no guesswork.
Book a consultation. One call. No nonsense. Just numbers.
Why Work With Us?
We don’t offer vague suggestions. We execute clear, proven, documented solutions that stand up to scrutiny—whether during an audit or under probate.
Our team includes tax advisors, ex-HMRC staff, and estate planners who’ve handled over £400 million in assets.
We know what your accountant often misses—and how to correct it before it’s too late.
When we create a plan, your family won’t need to “hope for the best.” They’ll already be prepared.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not always. It depends on whether it’s a gift with reservation, if rent is paid, and how the trust is structured. HMRC may still include it in your estate.
If you give an asset and survive seven years, it might be exempt from IHT. But if it’s a Chargeable Lifetime Transfer, or taper relief applies, there might still be partial liability.
Often, yes—if the company remains trading and not an investment shell. But excess dividends can affect its classification.
Defined contribution pensions can be outside the estate if beneficiaries are nominated properly and funds aren’t moved into drawdown. We check this thoroughly.
Up to 100% of the tax is underpaid, plus interest. Common triggers include inaccurate valuations, hidden assets, or outdated wills.
Only if the settlor isn’t UK domiciled and the trust was arranged early. These structures face strict HMRC oversight.
Yes, but the residence nil-rate band (RNRB) applies only if property goes to direct descendants and the estate value is within limits
What You Should Do Next
You’ve heard enough second-hand tips from accountants and acquaintances who don’t specialise.
This isn’t about just planning. It’s about getting it right. Your next step counts. Make it the right one.
Book your consultation
