Inheritance Tax Act 1984 section 230

Acceptance of property in satisfaction of tax

Section 230 allows HMRC, with the agreement of the Secretary of State, to accept certain types of property in place of inheritance tax (or interest on unpaid tax), either in whole or in part.

• HMRC may accept land, heritage objects or items of pre-eminent national, scientific, historic or artistic interest in satisfaction of inheritance tax or interest on unpaid tax, subject to the Secretary of State's agreement.
• Objects kept in qualifying buildings — such as Crown property, government-held buildings, buildings under guardianship of heritage bodies, or buildings belonging to Schedule 3 national purposes bodies — may be accepted where the Secretary of State considers it desirable for them to remain associated with that building.
• When assessing whether an object or collection is pre-eminent, regard must be had to any significant association with a particular place, and "national interest" includes interest within any part of the United Kingdom.
• Where the property has a Scottish interest — either because it is located in Scotland or because the taxpayer wishes it to be displayed in or transferred to a body in Scotland — the Ministers' functions under this section may be exercised separately.