IHTM25541 - AR/BR 100% relief allowance: transfer of unused allowance - simultaneous deaths
The rules that govern what happens when spouses or civil partners die at the same time (IHTM12191) are different in England and Wales from those in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In England and Wales, where spouses or civil partners die at the same time leaving a Will and it is not possible to establish who died first, the presumption is that the elder person died first. The couples’ estates are treated for Inheritance Tax on this basis and where the terms of the Will mean that there is unused 100% relief allowance on the death of the first, it is available to be transferred to the estate of the surviving spouse or civil partner. IHTA84/S4(2) continues to operate on the death of the younger to exclude the assets received from the estate of the elder.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the spouses, or civil partners, are treated as dying at the same moment, so neither can inherit from the other. Each person’s estate will pass on to their heirs whether by Will or under intestacy. In the event that one spouse or civil partner had any unused 100% relief allowance, it is available to be transferred to the estate of the other in the normal way.