Leaving a Gift to a Charity in your Will
Lucy Court – Solicitor
It has been reported that 1 in 10 UK Charities are facing bankruptcy by the end of this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is due to an increasing demand in the services that Charities provide teamed with a reduction in fundraising projects taking place as a result of the social-distancing measures that have been put in place by the Government.
Leaving a gift to a Charity in your Will not only provides valuable support to Charities, but it also provides a cost-effective way of dealing with your estate.
You can leave one of the following types of gift to a Charity in your Will:
- An item or a property
- A fixed amount
- A proportion of or the whole of your ‘residuary estate’ (what is left over after specific gifts, costs and tax have been paid).
Charities that are registered in the UK are classified as ‘exempt’ beneficiaries in respect of Inheritance Tax. This means that any gift that is left to a UK Charity in your Will is free of Inheritance Tax and the amount gifted will therefore be deducted from the value of your estate before Inheritance Tax is calculated.
Furthermore, if you leave 10% or more of your net estate to a Charity, the rate of Inheritance Tax that you pay on the remainder of your estate is reduced from 40% to 36%. This means that by gifting more to a Charity, your other beneficiaries may be entitled to receive a larger sum of inheritance.
How best to utilise the Charitable exemption largely depends on the size of your estate. For a confidential discussion about your Will and estate planning, please contact me or any of my colleagues in the Wills and Probate department by telephoning 0116 2643436.
Here at Josiah Hincks, we are delighted to give back to the community by making donations to local and international Charities and by carrying out regular fundraising activities and events. We also collaborate with various Charities throughout the year in respect of our Will-writing services.
For more information about our fundraising initiatives, please visit our website and social media pages.
