Can I avoid inheritance tax by putting money into a Child Trust Fund (CTF) account?
A. No. Each person can give away up to £3,000 every year, to any other person (donations to charities don’t count towards this figure), without any Inheritance Tax consequences. The maximum that can go into a CTF is £1,200, but if you made this gift and no other, it would not attract Inheritance Tax unless you were contributing that amount into at least three children’s CTF accounts. In addition you can give away any number of amounts of up to £250 in a year, so long as they all go to different people, without any Inheritance Tax consequences. You can give greater sums away so long as you derive no benefit from the gift and you survive for a further seven years. If you do not survive seven years all, or part of, bigger gifts will fall back into your assets (or ‘estate’) for Inheritance Tax purposes. Inheritance Tax is currently payable at 40% on sums above the £312,000 limit if you leave an estate worth more than this. Back to top Q. Can I keep paying into the CTF account once my child
