Inheritance Tax Act 1984 section 153A

Death of emergency service personnel etc.

Section 153A provides inheritance tax relief where an emergency responder dies as a result of injury, accident or disease sustained while responding to emergency circumstances, ensuring that their estate is effectively exempt from inheritance tax.

• Where an emergency responder dies from injury, accident or disease contracted while responding to emergency circumstances, their estate is relieved from inheritance tax: no potentially exempt transfers become chargeable, no tax arises on the death estate, and no additional tax is triggered on transfers made within seven years of death.
• Emergency circumstances are broadly defined and include situations causing or likely to cause death, serious injury or illness to persons or animals, serious harm to the environment, or serious harm to buildings or property — and it is sufficient that the responder reasonably believed the circumstances were or might be an emergency.
• An emergency responder covers a wide range of roles including fire and rescue personnel, search and rescue workers, paramedics and ambulance staff, police officers, those transporting organs, blood or medical equipment, and those providing humanitarian assistance — whether paid or unpaid.
• The Treasury has the power to extend the definition of emergency responder by statutory instrument, subject to annulment by the House of Commons.