The extra £175,000 IHT allowance for passing a home to direct descendants — who qualifies, how to claim it, and how it interacts with the standard nil rate band.
This guide is part of ProbateHelp's Inheritance Tax guide cluster. Estimated reading time: 12 min.
Not necessarily. If the property passes by survivorship (for example, a joint tenancy between spouses), the RNRB can still apply on the second death. What matters is that the property ultimately passes to direct descendants.
Only if they owned a residential property at some point and sold or downsized it after 8 July 2015. In that case, the downsizing addition may allow the RNRB to be claimed against other assets in the estate.
It depends on the type of trust. Certain trusts — including immediate post-death interest trusts and bereaved minor's trusts — can qualify. Others do not. If the will creates a trust, check with a solicitor whether the RNRB still applies.
Not necessarily. The taper reduces the RNRB by £1 for every £2 over £2 million. So an estate worth £2.1 million would still have £125,000 of RNRB available. Only estates worth £2.35 million or more lose it entirely.
The RNRB applies to the estate, not to individual beneficiaries. The full RNRB (up to £175,000) is available to the estate as long as the property passes to direct descendants — it does not matter how many children inherit it.
Yes, but you will need to reconstruct what you can. HMRC can sometimes access old records. A solicitor who specialises in probate can help you gather the evidence needed to support the claim.