Section 18 — Inheritance Tax Act 1984: Transfers between spouses or civil partners .

Transfers between spouses or civil partners . 18 1 A transfer of value is an exempt transfer to the extent that the value transferred is attributable to property which becomes comprised in the estate of the transferor’s spouse or civil partner or, so far as the value transferred is not so attributable, to the extent that that estate is increased.

2 If, immediately before the transfer, the transferor but not the transferor’s spouse or civil partner is a long-term UK resident, the value in respect of which the transfer is exempt (calculated as a value on which no tax is chargeable) shall not exceed the exemption limit at the time of the transfer, less any amount previously taken into account for the purposes of the exemption conferred by this section. 2A For the purposes of subsection (2), the exemption limit is the amount shown in the second column of the first row of the Table in Schedule 1 (upper limit of portion of value charged at rate of nil per cent).

3 Subsection (1) above shall not apply in relation to property if the testamentary or other disposition by which it is given—

a takes effect on the termination after the transfer of value of any interest or period, or b depends on a condition which is not satisfied within twelve months after the transfer; but paragraph (a) above shall not have effect by reason only that the property is given to a spouse or civil partner only if he survives the other spouse or civil partner for a specified period. 3A To the extent that the value transferred by a transfer of value made on the death of a member of a pension scheme is attributable to the member’s notional pension property—

a the value transferred is treated for the purposes of this section as also attributable to any property that the person’s spouse or civil partner receives, or has a present or future right to receive, under the scheme on the death of the member otherwise than as an excluded benefit;

b the estate of the transferor’s spouse or civil partner is treated for the purposes of subsection (1) (so far as would not otherwise be the case) as increased by the value of any property that they receive, or have a right to receive, as mentioned in paragraph (a),

and c subsection (3) does not apply in relation to the transfer of value.

4 For the purposes of this section, property is given to a person if it becomes his property or is held on trust for him.