Inheritance tax planning and charitable giving
Charitable giving and philanthropy can be a powerful tool in helping to reduce a client’s inheritance tax position, as well as allowing someone to make a positive impact on society and leave a lasting legacy.
Gifts to qualifying charities are free from inheritance tax and, in some cases, leaving at least 10% of a net estate to charity can reduce the overall rate of inheritance tax.
Once clients understand their inheritance tax position, many begin to think beyond tax efficiency and consider the legacy they want to leave and the causes they would like to support.
However, it is important that clients take specialist, professional advice to ensure charitable giving fits in with their wider estate planning objectives.
Clients who choose to make charitable gifts during their lifetime can also be involved in the grant-making process, allowing them to see the impact of their giving and help direct funding towards causes that matter most to them.
Download a short introductory guide to working with Point North to support your clients’ giving
The importance of specialist advice
Samantha Edward, who leads the Wills, Trusts and Probate team at award-winning EMG Solicitors, specialises in estate planning including inheritance tax mitigation, the drafting of Wills and trusts together with Powers of Attorney, and estate and trust administration.
She said: “Inheritance tax planning forms a core part of the advice we provide to many clients when they are preparing their wills or reviewing their wider estate planning.
“Clients are increasingly looking not only at how to preserve wealth for future generations, but also how their estate can reflect the values and causes that matter to them.
“Charitable giving can be a valuable part of that discussion.
“However, these are decisions that should always be made with specialist legal advice to ensure they achieve both the client’s personal wishes and their wider estate planning objectives especially as we see unused pensions becoming part of an estate for inheritance tax purposes in April 2027.”
Helping clients identify the causes that matter to them
Many people first become aware of the impact of inheritance tax when administering the estate of a family member, prompting them to review their own estate planning much earlier than they had anticipated.
While many clients are keen to support charitable causes, choosing where to direct donations can be overwhelming.
For clients who are interested in supporting charitable causes, organisations such as Point North can provide invaluable expertise by helping them identify local projects and charities that closely reflect their interests, giving them confidence that their legacy will have the impact they intend.
This ensures charitable giving is both meaningful and aligned with their wider estate planning objectives.
It could be:
- a place in County Durham or Tees Valley that means a lot to them,
- a type of work such as youth opportunities or combatting loneliness, or
- a broader aim, like fighting poverty.
Point North will suggest a small number of options, showing you organisations or community groups that are doing essential work locally. They will explain where funding is needed most, and where a contribution will make sense in the context of what the client wants to do.
Point North handle the due diligence, governance and grantmaking, and depending on the structure they opt for, donors can be involved as much or as little as they want in the grant-making process.
How Point North supports professional advisers
Point North has been working across County Durham, Tees Valley and the wider North East for over 30 years, and have distributed more than £80 million to local charities and community organisations.
The relationships they have developed locally over that time gives them a clear view of what’s happening on the ground and where donations can make a difference to people’s lives today, and tomorrow.
If you’re advising clients who have recently dealt with an estate, or if inheritance tax has moved to the top of their priority list, Point North can help you explore options.
Get in touch
If you’re a professional adviser and would like to explore giving options for your clients get in touch with Jane or Sarah using the email addresses below, or call us on 0191 378 6340.
Based in
Tees Valley?
If you’re based or headquartered in Tees Valley, get in touch with our Relationship Manager, Jane Reynolds MBE
Based in County Durham
or beyond?
If you’re based or headquartered in County Durham, or the wider North East and beyond, get in touch with our Relationship Manager, Sarah Cairns
