Why gift?
Why people make lifetime gifts
Giving during your lifetime lets you help family and causes when it matters most — and, kept properly, your gifts form part of an orderly, well-evidenced record for whoever deals with your estate later. Here's the plain-English picture of why people give and how the main gift rules generally work. It's general information, not advice about your own situation.
£3,000
Annual exemption, each tax year
£250
Small gifts, per person, per year
Survive 7 years
… and a gift is outside your estate
Estates and Inheritance Tax, in brief
When someone dies, the value of what they leave — their estate — may be subject to Inheritance Tax (IHT). A tax-free threshold called the nil-rate band (currently £325,000, as at 2026/27) applies first; broadly, IHT can arise on value above the available thresholds. There are other allowances too (for example an additional residence allowance in some cases), and the position depends on personal circumstances.
We're not going to work out your estate or any tax here — that's exactly the kind of thing a qualified adviser does with your full picture. The point is simply that, for some people, thoughtful lifetime giving is one of the ways an estate is arranged.
Why give during your lifetime
People give in their lifetime for many reasons — most of them nothing to do with tax:
Help when it counts
A deposit for a first home, help through university, support for someone you love or a cause you care about — while you're here to see the difference it makes.
Share what you don't need
Passing on surplus income or assets you're comfortable you won't need yourself, to the people and causes you choose.
Keep an orderly record
Gifts written down and evidenced as you go are far easier for your family and executors to deal with later.
Some gifts are also exempt from IHT, or fall outside your estate if you live long enough after making them — which is why keeping a clear record matters.
The main lifetime gift allowances
These are the everyday exemptions people most often use. Amounts are as at 2026/27 and can change — always check the current position, and check how any of these apply to you with an adviser.
Annual exemption — £3,000 a year
You can generally give this much away each tax year free of Inheritance Tax. Any unused amount can usually carry forward one year.
Small gifts — £250 per person
Separate small gifts of up to this amount to as many different people as you like each tax year.
Wedding & civil-partnership gifts
Generally up to £5,000 to a child, £2,500 to a grandchild or great-grandchild, and £1,000 to anyone else.
Normal expenditure out of income
Regular gifts from your surplus income (not capital) that don't reduce your standard of living can be exempt — this one is fact-sensitive and needs a clear record.
Gifts to a spouse or civil partner
Gifts between spouses or civil partners are generally exempt (conditions apply).
Gifts to charity
Gifts to qualifying charities are generally exempt.
Gift Recorder helps you record which exemption you're relying on for each gift and keep the evidence — it doesn't decide whether an exemption ultimately applies. That depends on your circumstances and is for a qualified adviser.
The seven-year rule and PETs
Many larger gifts to individuals aren't covered by an exemption. These are usually Potentially Exempt Transfers (PETs): a gift that becomes fully exempt once you have survived 7 years from making it.
Where a gift was made more than three years before death, a reduction called taper relief can apply. It reduces the rate of tax on the gift on a sliding scale as more of the seven years pass — it is not a discount you multiply against the gift's value, and it only matters if there's tax to reduce in the first place. We deliberately don't show a worked taper figure, because the real number depends on your whole estate.
What helps in practice is knowing, for each gift, when it was made and where it is on its seven-year clock — which is exactly what Gift Recorder keeps for you.
Where Gift Recorder fits in
Gift Recorder is a record-keeping tool, not a tax adviser. It helps you record each lifetime gift, who it went to and which exemption (if any) you're relying on; keep the evidence behind each gift in one private place; see each gift's position on its seven-year clock; and produce a clear, ordered gift record for you, your family and your professionals.
It does not give personalised tax, legal or investment advice, calculate a final Inheritance Tax bill, or imply that HMRC has accepted any treatment. For decisions about your own situation, please speak to a qualified adviser.
Gift Recorder keeps your records — it does not give tax, legal or financial advice. For advice on your situation, speak to a qualified professional.
Statutory figures shown are those in force for the 2026/27 UK tax year and can change. This page is general information, not personalised advice — for your own situation, speak to a qualified adviser or read how Gift Recorder works.