Farm Succession and Inheritance Tax Planning
Written and reviewed by the Agricultural Accountants editorial team. Last reviewed 27 July 2026.
This is the service the 2026 reform created demand for, and the one farming families most want done right. It starts with a straight answer to the question keeping people awake: is there an inheritance-tax bill on this farm, and if so how big, and how is it met without selling land.
We do the tax and the structure. We do not sell a scheme, and we do not advise on the insurance some people use to fund a bill, because that is regulated advice we do not hold.
Working Out Whether There Is a Bill
The first job is the calculation, at the current position: 100% relief on the first £2.5 million of farm and business assets per person, £5 million for a couple, with 50% relief above and an effective rate of 20%. Whether the farm is over that at all turns on how the land, the farmhouse and the business are owned and valued, which is set out in our guide to farm inheritance tax.
Many farms that feared a catastrophic bill turn out to be under the allowance once it is worked properly, or a long way from the worst case. Others are genuinely exposed, and knowing which you are is the whole point of starting.
Modelling the Options
Where there is exposure, we model the routes: gifting the farm and surviving seven years, restructuring how the business and land are held, using both spouses' allowances, and the interaction with capital gains on any lifetime transfer. The trade-offs around control and income are as important as the tax, and we set them out plainly. The reliefs behind the modelling are covered in our guide to Business Property Relief.
We give you the numbers and the consequences, and let you and the family decide, rather than pushing a single structure.
Doing It and Filing the Claim
If a plan is agreed, we handle the tax side: the restructuring, the gift record, the capital gains position, and in due course the APR and BPR claim on the estate. We work alongside your solicitor and land agent, who deal with the deeds, tenancies and valuations, so the tax and the legal work fit together.
The aim is a position that is defensible if HMRC looks at it, with the records that support the relief kept from the start.
Fees for Succession Work
The initial calculation and options report is a fixed, defined fee, quoted before we start, and it is worth having even if the answer is that you are under the allowance. Any implementation is quoted separately as its own piece of work.
There is no commission, no product, and nothing riding on the answer being alarming.