Overview
- Martin Lewis used his BBC podcast Thursday to warn that informal gifts to family can count toward your estate for inheritance tax.
- Timing rules allow £3,000 a year tax‑free with one year’s carry‑forward to £6,000, and gifts usually fall outside tax once seven years have passed.
- A separate small‑gift rule lets you give £250 to as many people as you like, and you cannot use it alongside the £3,000 for the same person.
- Wedding‑gift limits apply, with parents able to give £5,000, grandparents £2,500, and others £1,000.
- Experts urged people to record every gift and keep the log with their will, often starting in their 40s or 50s to make later tax forms easier.