The government should bring in a transitional rule to enable older farmers and other business owners to gift assets to a younger generation free of inheritance tax (IHT) before the government’s changes to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) take effect next April, says the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT).  

Current rules incentivise farmers and business owners to hold on to their farms until their deaths, but the April 2026 changes reverse the incentive, making lifetime giving the best approach.