Is there any Inheritance Tax Implication if I gift a lump sum to my Sister for a Mortgage Deposit?

I would like to gift my sister a lump sum approx 拢13,000 which she will use towards a Mortgage Deposit to buy a new house.





Will this have any Inheritance Tax Implications and also will this effect her Mortgage Application (In the UK) because she will be repay this amount in due time.|||If you are making an outright gift of the money to your sister, there would only be an IHT implication if your estate was worth more than the Nil Rate Band of 拢325,000. It is classed as a Potentially Exempt Transfer (PET). If you gave her the money and died within 7 years of making the gift, the IHT liability on your estate would reduce on a sliding scale. If you lived for more than 7 years, there would be no liability. You can use your annual exemptions within the gift, e.g. the ability to gift 拢3,000 a year exempt from IHT (拢6,000 if you have paid nothing the previous year). Furthermore, you could gift 拢6,000 and so could your spouse (if you have one) and 拢12,000 of the gift would be completely exempt.





If it is a loan, and not a gift i.e. you are expecting to be repaid the money at some point in the future, then firstly, even though she is your sister, you should still draw up a contract/repayment schedule/loan agreement. It doesn't have to be complicated.





If you were to die, the loan would be treated as an unpaid asset due to your estate and would be included for the purposes of calculating any IHT liability (you might also want to think about the consequences of your sister dying - how will your loan be repaid? Does she have life insurance, for example?).





Even with a written agreement in place between you and your sister, it wouldn't appear on your sisters credit search and would not therefore affect your sister's ability to get a mortgage. She would simply declare it as her money. The mortgage lender won't ask where the money came from.|||If she is going to repay it then it is a loan not a gift.





A loan means the money remains your asset and will be included in your estate when you die. This may increase the amount of any inheritance tax payable. The mortgage company may not like this as the repayment would be an additional drain on her ability to pay the mortgage but as you are family they may not worry.





If it is a gift then the amount becomes a Potentially Exempt Transfer. As such it will be included in your estate if you die within seven years. After that time it becomes fully exempt and will be ignored.|||You could draw up a small contract stating that you are buying something from her (anything) for 拢13,000 this way you will not be taxed on this and it would not affect her application.