Inheritance Tax Act 1984 section 209

Succession in Scotland

Section 209 deals with special rules on who is liable for inheritance tax in the context of Scottish succession, particularly regarding heritable property vested in executors and claims for legitim or civil partnership succession rights.

• An executor in Scotland is not personally liable for IHT on heritable property that vests in them automatically under the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964.
• Where a person claims legitim (a child's legal right to a share of a deceased parent's moveable estate) or equivalent civil partnership rights, that person is liable for any resulting IHT charge.
• Any person who benefits from the estate (such as a beneficiary) may also be liable for tax arising from a legitim or civil partnership rights claim.
• A person claiming legitim or civil partnership succession rights is subject to the same limitation on liability that normally applies to personal representatives.