New queries: Restaurant relief; Late flat rate...

Restaurant relief

A husband and wife own a restaurant situated on the ground floor of a property. On the first floor is a flat which is occupied by the wife (the husband lives in the jointly-owned guest house a short distance away).

With regards to the inheritance tax business property relief (BPR) due on the restaurant on the understanding that more than 50% of the building is occupied by the restaurant would the whole of the premises (including the flat) qualify for BPR under IHTA 1984 s 112 because the building is used “wholly or mainly for the purposes of the business?”

The HMRC Inheritance Tax Manual at IHTM25354 gives guidance to how the building would be split into two if the building would have to be treated as an excepted asset because it was not used “wholly or mainly” but surely in...