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Introduction

There has been a long-standing exemption from inheritance tax (and earlier versions of death duties) for the estates of armed forces personnel who die in conflict or as a result of injuries sustained in the line of duty. The exemption was extended in Finance Act 2015 to:

1. •

   broaden the circumstances to which the armed forces exemption applies

2. •

   include emergency service personnel and humanitarian aid workers who die in the line of duty

IHTA 1984, s 154

There are now three categories of exemption:

1. •

   death on active service of armed forces personnel

2. •

   death on active service of emergency services personnel

3. •

   death of police constables or armed forces personnel who are targeted because of their status

The qualifying conditions and means of application for the exemption are separately specified for each category as described below. However, in all three categories, the cause of death and the extent of the exemption are the same.

Cause of death

The reliefs apply where a person dies from either:

1. •

   an