Where grandparents make these payments, they are made from their post-tax income and each payment is treated as a gift for inheritance tax purposes, which is not the most efficient.
At Ludlow Trust we have helped many grandparents set aside funds for their grandchildren’s education. This has made life easier for both the grandparents and parents, as invoices are sent to us directly.
But importantly this helps those grandparents start their inheritance tax planning, by putting aside a larger sum now to cover fees into the future, and starting the inheritance tax 7 year clock.
In addition, where fees are being paid from a discretionary trust, this is not coming out of the grandparent’s post-tax income and instead it may even be possible for the parents to reclaim some income tax on behalf of the child and put that into savings for them or use it for other costs.
School fee planning via trusts is most effective where you are looking to put at least £250,000 into trust, and potentially significantly more depending upon the number of grandchildren, and number of years in independent education.
If you would like to speak to one of our expert advisors about providing for your grandchildren’s education, please call us on 020 4534 2750 or email [email protected].