Inheritance tax is a tax paid by individuals or families who have inherited something from a deceased person. The heirs pay it after the death of a certain individual who has passed on his property or estate to them. You can also get more information about estate tax in UK through the internet.

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A common misconception is that inheritance-tax and estate tax are the same. However, this is not so, as the inheritance tax is not levied on the entire estate; it is only to be paid on the property that is passed on as inheritance. Still, in some countries such as the UK, the two are not very distinct from each other. Inheritance-tax is also known as Death Duty.

A person is exempt from paying inheritance-tax in some instances. If a UK citizen has lived outside the country for more than three years during a twenty-year tax period, then he is not liable for paying this tax. In addition, if the assets are overseas, there is no tax charged on them.

Inheritance-tax has always remained under criticism and most people are against it. Many are of the view that it is unfair to put this burden on the family of the deceased who has already suffered a loss. In most cases, the tax is quite high, sometimes even being around forty to fifty percent of the entire asset value. Thus, it is important to implement inheritance-tax planning to reduce this burden.