Inheritance Tax Planning in Poole and Sandbanks

Sandbanks and Poole - an inheritance tax hotspot

Sandbanks is one of the most expensive residential areas in the UK outside central London. Properties on the peninsula and across Canford Cliffs and Branksome Park regularly sit between £1m and £5m, and the harbourside market has continued to firm even where the wider market has softened.

The nil-rate band has been frozen at £325,000 since 2009. A Sandbanks property worth £2m on its own creates an inheritance tax liability that could deprive the next generation of several hundred thousand pounds - before any pension, investment or business asset is added to the calculation.

Many families in this part of Dorset have owned their property for decades and have watched its value multiply many times over. The estate plan they put in place when the property cost a fraction of its current value almost certainly no longer does what they intended.

The April 2027 pension change - what Poole families need to know

From 6 April 2027, unused pension assets fall inside the taxable estate for inheritance tax. This is set in law under the Finance Act 2026.

For Poole and Sandbanks families who hold both a high-value property and significant pension wealth - a common pattern across BH13 and BH14 - the combined IHT exposure from April 2027 is materially higher than it is today.

The strategies that genuinely reduce the bill - trust planning, life cover written in trust, gifting programmes, pension restructuring - require time to put in place. The window to act runs to April 2027, not beyond it.

Our services for Poole and Sandbanks clients

Will writing and review, trust arrangements, Lasting Powers of Attorney, inheritance tax review and pension coordination - delivered as a coordinated estate plan rather than a sequence of disconnected documents.

Genuinely local - a Bournemouth-based practice covering BH13, BH14, BH15 and BH16 in person. We know the Poole and Sandbanks property market, the demographic of clients in this part of Dorset and the kinds of estate that tend to need work.

In-person consultations at our Bournemouth office or at the client's home, with video call and telephone available where preferred.

Protecting Poole property for the next generation

The family home is normally the single most significant asset in the estate. Ensuring it passes to the next generation efficiently means using the residence nil-rate band correctly, structuring ownership appropriately between spouses, and considering whether a trust arrangement protects the property better than outright ownership.

We review how the property is owned, whether a trust is appropriate, how the nil-rate bands interact across both spouses, and how the April 2027 pension changes affect the wider plan. The goal is straightforward - that the property does what the family intended, with the smallest possible deduction to HMRC.