The two simple ways to avoid huge IHT bills are to spend your money or give it away early. So is it time families started discussing this more?
Updated: 18:42 BST, 19 June 2026
Most families don't pay inheritance tax but those that do can get hit with huge bills running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
With pension pots soon to be included in calculations, this is going to be an issue facing more families in the years ahead.
So, if you know your parents or grandparents will get caught in their inheritance tax net, and you also know they don't want a 40 per cent of a chunk of their hard-won wealth going to the government, should you ask for an early inheritance to solve the problem?
On this week's podcast, Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Simon Lambert discuss how to tackle the thorny issue of giving money away, without triggering a family fallout.
Plus, will the Bank of England still hike interest rates this year after it decided to hold this week - and what's happening with mortgages and savings?
How did a woman end up with another person's massive energy bill from the other side of the country, and is Labour's new plan to make home buyers' offers binding a good idea?
And finally, Simon talks us through his short-lived SpaceX adventure after he decided to sign up for the latest stock market craze.
This is Money podcastWe publish the podcast every Friday on This is Money and at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and more. Search for it at your favourite podcast platform.
To download Apple Podcasts go to the App store. On Android devices, go to the Google Play store to download the podcast app of your choice.
You can press play to listen to this week's full episode on the player above, and wherever you get your podcasts please subscribe and review us if you like the podcast.
You can also listen to the latest episode, find the archive and join in the debate in reader comments on the This is Money podcast page.