APR – ATKINSON V HMRC [2010] UK FTT 108
MAY 14TH 2010 | 11:25 TAGS:
When considering the availability of Agricultural Property Relief (APR) for Inheritance Tax (IHT) we must remember the provisions of s.117 IHTA 1984. The property must have been either:
- Occupied by the transferor for the purposes of agriculture throughout the period of 2 years prior to the date of the transfer; or
- Owned by the transferor and occupied by him or someone else for the purposes of agriculture throughout the period of 7 years prior to the date of the transfer
Where a farmer through Illness or old age is not in occupation then it would seem that there is no actual relief. In practice HMRC will allow 3 months absence but there must be an intention to return and it must be possible to re-occupy the property. This little case provides some useful clarification where the senior partner in a farming partnership had moved into a care home but the ‘bungalow was still used to accommodate the diminishing needs of the senior partner’.
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