Finance Bill 2025-26 briefing: APR and BPR restrictions

The ATT has produced a Finance Bill 2025-26 briefing on clause 62 and schedule 12,  which will place a cap on the amount of Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) available at the maximum 100% rate for individuals and trustees from 6 April 2026.

While some welcome modifications to the application of the cap were announced at Budget 2025, followed by an increase to the limit in December, we remain concerned about the impact of the anti-forestalling rules. These rules mean that the new allowance can apply to gifts or transfers made between 30 October 2024 and 6 April 2026 if an individual dies after 6 April 2026 and within seven years of the gift. Given the substantial impact of this change, we would like to see the existing rules retained in full up to and including 5 April 2026. This would allow businesses and landowners, particularly older people who have previously relied on a settled regime in which it made sense to retain assets until death, to plan more effectively.

We consider that as part of introducing these new restrictions, the Government should take steps to remove the need to demonstrate ‘undue hardship’ from the company purchase of own shares rules to enable more trading companies to use this route to settle these new IHT liabilities.