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With property prices remaining high and inheritance tax (IHT) thresholds frozen, accountants and tax advisers are increasingly being asked how clients can hold and pass on property wealth in a tax-efficient way. Family Investment Companies (FICs) have emerged as a powerful and flexible planning tool, yet many practitioners remain uncertain about how they work in a property context and when they are appropriate to use. This session will provide accountants with a clear, practical understanding of how FICs can be used to hold property portfolios, the tax consequences of incorporating existing property into a FIC structure, and how such arrangements can form part of a broader estate planning strategy for clients. Attending will help practitioners identify planning opportunities for property-owning clients and add real value to their advisory offering.

In this session Nick Wright will cover the following topics:

• What is a Family Investment Company? - the structure, how it works, and why it is increasingly used as an alternative to trusts for holding family wealth, including property assets
• Property ownership through a FIC - the tax treatment of holding residential and commercial property within a FIC, including corporation tax, SDLT, ATED and income tax considerations
• Incorporating an existing property portfolio into a FIC - the key tax issues on transfer, including capital gains tax (including incorporation relief), SDLT implications and mortgage/lending considerations
• Estate planning with FICs - how FICs can be used to pass value to the next generation outside of the estate, the use of different share classes, and the IHT treatment of FIC shares
• Practical considerations and pitfalls- when a FIC works well and when it does not, HMRC's current approach, and how to advise clients on whether this structure is right for them

By attending this session, you will be able to explain to clients how a Family Investment Company works in the context of property ownership, identify when incorporating a property portfolio into a FIC may be beneficial or unsuitable, understand the key tax consequences of FIC structures including corporation tax, CGT, SDLT and IHT, and advise on how FICs can form part of an effective intergenerational estate plan.

This session will be of most interest to tax advisers, accountants in practice, private client advisers, and those advising owner-managed businesses and high-net-worth individuals with property portfolios or estate planning needs.

Course level: Intermediate - this session assumes a working knowledge of income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax, and is aimed at practitioners who want a better understanding of FIC structures in the property context