Inheritance Tax Act 1984 section 238

Effect of purchases

Section 238 deals with what happens to an Inland Revenue charge over property when that property is sold to a purchaser, including the circumstances in which the charge falls away and the time limits that apply.

• When property subject to an Inland Revenue charge is sold, the charge is released if it was not properly registered or if the purchaser had no notice of the facts giving rise to it — but the charge then attaches to whatever property represents the proceeds.
• A certificate of discharge from HMRC also releases the charge, provided the purchaser had no notice of any fact that would invalidate the certificate.
• Where the charge is not released on sale, it will automatically expire six years after the later of the date the tax became due or the date a full account of the property was first delivered to HMRC.
• The "time of the disposition" is the time of registration for registered land dispositions requiring registration, and the time of completion in all other cases.