Professional Intermediaries
Specialist UK tax advice for family offices
A specialist UK tax adviser for single and multi-family offices, covering inheritance tax, trusts, Family Investment Companies, residence and cross-border structures.
On this page10 sections
Key points
- 1Technical UK tax support alongside your own team
- 2Inheritance tax, trusts, Family Investment Companies and residence
- 3Works across generations, entities and jurisdictions
- 4Led by a Chartered Tax Adviser with same-day replies
A family office carries a particular kind of responsibility. It keeps several generations, several entities and often several countries working together, and the UK tax result of a decision can be large and slow to reverse. ASWATAX provides family offices with specialist UK tax advice, working alongside your own team and your other advisers.
Who this is for
This page is for single-family offices, multi-family offices and the advisers inside them: chief operating officers, general counsel, finance directors and trusted external advisers. It applies whether the family is UK resident, internationally mobile, or based overseas with UK assets or UK-resident members.
The questions we are asked
- Generational transfer. How do we pass the business or wealth to the next generation without a large inheritance tax charge?
- Structure. Do we use trusts, a Family Investment Company, a holding company, or a combination?
- Mobility. What are the UK tax consequences when a family member moves to or from the UK?
- Legacy structures. Do existing trusts and companies still work, given recent changes?
- HMRC. How do we deal with an enquiry, a clearance or a late disclosure?
UK tax issues that matter most to families now
Residence-based inheritance tax
Inheritance tax has been based on residence since 6 April 2025. A long-term UK resident, someone UK resident in at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years, is within UK inheritance tax on worldwide assets, and there is a tail of between 3 and 10 years after leaving. For globally mobile families, the timing of arrivals and departures now needs planning. See International Inheritance Tax.
Business relief and the wider reforms
From 6 April 2026, 100% business and agricultural property relief is limited to £2.5m of qualifying property per person, with 50% relief above, and unused allowance can pass to a spouse or civil partner. Pensions also come into the estate for inheritance tax from 6 April 2027. Offices advising business-owning families should be modelling both.
Trusts and Family Investment Companies
Trusts and Family Investment Companies are the two main vehicles. Trusts can move value out of the estate quickly but carry entry, periodic and exit charges. A Family Investment Company lets the founder keep control and pass growth to the next generation, with its own tax features. We have set up 50+ Family Investment Companies and can advise on which suits each family. See Family Investment Company, Trusts and Estates and the specialist guide at familyinvestmentcompany.uk.
Income and gains planning
Income, dividends and gains arising across different family members and entities need to be managed together. Tax rates differ by taxpayer: for example capital gains tax is 18% or 24% for individuals, and 24% for trustees. See Wealth Planning.
How we work with a family office
We act as a specialist adviser to the office. You keep the relationship with the family. We join calls with the family when you ask us to, but otherwise route our work through you.
- Scoping call. We understand the family, the assets and the question.
- Analysis. We map UK exposure and test the options.
- Recommendation. You receive a clear written note with the reasoning, figures where useful and next steps.
- Coordination. We work with overseas advisers, lawyers and trustees to make the plan work end to end.
- Implementation. We prepare HMRC applications and support the legal documents.
What we do not do
We do not manage investments, offer regulated financial products or take over your reporting and accounting. Our role is tax advice and structuring. That means your office can use us without any overlap in what you do for the family.
Working across generations and jurisdictions
Family offices often hold the long view that individual advisers cannot. The next generation may be at university abroad, a founder may be considering a move to the UAE, and a trust may have been settled by a grandparent. Each of these changes the UK picture in a different way. We help the office keep one coherent view of the family's UK exposure, and flag when a decision in one country affects the position in another.
Governance and record-keeping
Good decisions need a documented reason. We provide written advice that can sit on the file, setting out the facts we relied on, the options considered and the recommendation. For trustees and decision-makers inside the office, that record is valuable if a choice is ever questioned by HMRC or by a beneficiary.
Why ASWATAX
You work directly with Omar Aswat, a Chartered Tax Adviser, rather than being passed between departments. We are commercially minded and focus on what the family is trying to achieve. We have advised 300+ clients, helped save an estimated £100m+ of inheritance tax for clients, and are rated 5.0 on Google from 31 reviews. We reply the same working day. Learn more about how we work, or return to the Professional Intermediaries overview.
Talk to us
If you would like to discuss a family, a structure or a standing relationship with your office, book a free first call or contact us.
01 · Guide in progress
The Family Office Guide to UK Tax Planning
The UK tax questions every family office should have an answer to.
Talk it through instead
Our The Family Office Guide to UK Tax Planning is being written. In the meantime, a 20-minute call with a Chartered Tax Adviser is free.
Book a free callWe reply the same working day.
Often handled together.
- ServiceProfessional Intermediaries overviewSpecialist tax support for accountants, law firms, family offices and other advisers. We work under your client relationship, with a Chartered Tax Adviser, and respond quickly.Read the page
- Private FamiliesFamily Investment CompanyWhere a Family Investment Company sits in your wider family plan alongside gifts, trusts, pensions and your business, and when another route is better.Read the page
- Private FamiliesTrusts and EstatesTax advice on setting up, running and winding up trusts, and on dealing with an estate after a death, led personally by a Chartered Tax Adviser.Read the page
- Private FamiliesWealth PlanningOne joined-up tax plan for your wealth: allowances, pensions, investments, property, companies and succession, led by a Chartered Tax Adviser.Read the page
- International TaxInternational Inheritance TaxSince 6 April 2025, UK inheritance tax on worldwide assets depends on long-term residence, not domicile. We explain the test, the tail after leaving, trusts and treaties.Read the page
From the journal.
Questions, answered.
Straight answers to what clients ask us most. Your own situation may differ, so treat them as a starting point.
Q1What UK tax work do family offices usually outsource?
Mostly the specialist questions that arise intermittently: inheritance tax planning for a generation change, the design of a Family Investment Company or trust, the UK consequences of a family member moving in or out, and HMRC clearances. Family offices keep day-to-day operations in-house and call on us for technical depth and a second opinion.
Q2Can you work alongside our existing advisers and counsel?
Yes. Family offices already work with lawyers, accountants and investment managers across several countries. We fit into that team, coordinate through the office rather than going to the family directly, and share analysis in a form your other advisers can use without re-working it.
Q3How do you advise a family spread across several countries?
We start by mapping where each person is resident and where assets sit, then work out the UK exposure for each: income tax, gains, and inheritance tax now that IHT is residence-based. We then coordinate with overseas advisers so the plan works on both sides, rather than fixing one jurisdiction at the expense of another.
Q4What does the move to residence-based inheritance tax mean for our families?
Since 6 April 2025, a person who has been UK resident for at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years is a long-term resident, and their worldwide assets are within UK inheritance tax. There is a tail after leaving, of between 3 and 10 years. Families with internationally mobile members should review their position now.
Q5Can you help an office decide between trusts and a Family Investment Company?
Yes. They solve different problems. Trusts can move value out of the estate quickly but have entry and ten-yearly charges. A Family Investment Company keeps control with the founder and has different tax features. We model both against the family's goals. See our article comparing trusts and Family Investment Companies.
Q6Do you advise on trusts that are already in place?
Yes. Legacy trusts often need review: periodic charges, distributions, residence of trustees, reporting and whether the structure still suits the family. We can analyse an existing trust, flag problems before HMRC does, and recommend whether to retain, restructure or wind it up.
Q7How do you deal with a family member moving to or from the UK?
We assess the position under the statutory residence test, the 4-year foreign income and gains regime for arrivals after long non-residence, and the inheritance tax tail on departure. We also advise on timing, because the date of a move can change the result materially. Our residency checker is a starting point.
Q8What can you do about the tax cost of a generational transfer of a business?
We look at business relief, which gives 100% relief on the first £2.5m of qualifying business and agricultural property per person from 6 April 2026, then 50% above that, together with lifetime gifting, trusts and holding structures. The right mix depends on the business, the family and the timetable.
Q9Can you support the family office's own corporate structure?
Yes. Family offices often use holding companies, investment companies and management entities, and the structure needs to work for tax as well as governance. We advise on group structures, intra-group arrangements and extracting value, and we can apply for HMRC clearance where a reorganisation requires it.
Q10How much information do you need to begin?
A summary of the family tree, residence of each member, main assets and any existing structures is usually enough for a first conversation. We will tell you what else we need. Where a family prefers anonymity at the outset, we can start with a hypothetical fact pattern and move to named detail later.
Q11How do you protect family privacy?
We keep all family information confidential and restrict it to those who need it. We communicate through the office as the family's chosen channel, keep matters separate from other clients, and process personal data under UK GDPR. If the family wants specific safeguards, we will discuss them at the start.
Q12Do you help with HMRC investigations or disclosures involving a family?
Yes. If a family faces an enquiry, or finds historic errors and wants to put them right, we can advise on the approach, handle correspondence as agent and keep the office informed. We are practical about it: establish the facts, assess exposure, then agree a plan with the office.
Q13Can you advise on UK property held by an overseas family?
Yes. UK residential property attracts inheritance tax whoever owns it, and ownership through a company or trust brings its own charges. We advise on the structure, stamp duty land tax surcharges for non-residents, rental income and capital gains, then coordinate with overseas advisers on the home-country view.
Q14Will you advise on philanthropy and charitable giving?
Yes, on the tax side. We can explain how gifts to charity are treated for inheritance tax, including the reduced 36% rate where at least 10% of the net estate goes to charity, and how giving by individuals, trusts or companies interacts with other planning. Charity law advice remains with your legal team.
Q15How do you work with multi-family offices serving many clients?
We can set up a standing relationship so that your team can bring us questions as they arise, with scope and billing agreed up front for each matter. Many multi-family offices find this simpler than finding a specialist each time. We keep each family's information separate.
Q16Do you offer an annual review of UK tax changes for our families?
We can walk your team through each year's developments and what they mean for the families you serve, such as changes to business relief, pensions in the estate from April 2027, and the residence-based inheritance tax rules. Tell us what is useful and we will arrange it around your calendar.
05 · Next step
Talk it through with Omar.
The first call is free. You'll speak to a Chartered Tax Adviser, and leave with a clear view of your options.
We reply the same working day.
