Section 162A — Inheritance Tax Act 1984: Liabilities attributable to financing excluded property

Liabilities attributable to financing excluded property 162A 1 To the extent that a liability is attributable to financing (directly or indirectly)—

a the acquisition of any excluded property, or b the maintenance, or an enhancement, of the value of any such property, it may only be taken into account so far as permitted by subsections (2) to (4).

2 Where the property mentioned in subsection (1) has been disposed of, in whole or in part, for full consideration in money or money's worth, the liability may be taken into account up to an amount equal to so much of that consideration as—

a is not excluded property, and b has not been used—

i to finance (directly or indirectly) the acquisition of excluded property or the maintenance, or an enhancement, of the value of such property, or ii to discharge (directly or indirectly) any other liability that, by virtue of this section, would not be taken into account.

3 The liability may be taken into account up to an amount equal to the value of such of the property mentioned in subsection (1) as—

a has not been disposed of, and b is no longer excluded property.

4 To the extent that any remaining liability is greater than the value of such of the property mentioned in subsection (1) as—

a has not been disposed of, and b is still excluded property, it may be taken into account, but only so far as the remaining liability is not greater than that value for any of the reasons mentioned in subsection (7).

5 Subsection (6) applies where—

a a liability or any part of a liability is attributable to financing (directly or indirectly)—

i the acquisition of property that was not excluded property, or ii the maintenance, or an enhancement, of the value of such property, and b the property or part of the property—

i has not been disposed of, and ii has become excluded property.

6 The liability or (as the case may be) the part may only be taken into account to the extent that it exceeds the value of the property, or the part of the property, that has become excluded property, but only so far as it does not exceed that value for any of the reasons mentioned in subsection (7).

7 The reasons are—

a arrangements the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, of which is to secure a tax advantage, b an increase in the amount of the liability (whether due to the accrual of interest or otherwise), or c a disposal, in whole or in part, of the property.

8 In this section— “ arrangements ” includes any scheme, transaction or series of transactions, agreement or understanding, whether or not legally enforceable, and any associated operations; “ remaining liability ” means the liability mentioned in subsection (1) so far as subsections (2) and (3) do not permit it to be taken into account; “ tax advantage ” means— the avoidance or reduction of a charge to tax, or the avoidance of a possible determination in respect of tax.