Churches: Taxation
The question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has considered recognising listed church buildings as national heritage assets in the tax system.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson
Church buildings are not usually owned by individuals and so are not usually chargeable to inheritance tax. Where an individual inherits and wishes to retain heritage property they can claim Conditional Exemption, so that there is no inheritance tax for as long as the property is maintained and open to the public to enjoy.
Comprehensive guidance is available on gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-taxation-and-tax-exempt-heritage-assets
Otherwise, gifts of property to charities or to a recognised National Body (listed at https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm11224 ) would be exempt from inheritance tax.
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