Tax free gifts

[pandora_boite]

If you give someone (say your child) 3000GBP as a gift, can you give that same child an additional 250GBP as a birthday present in that same tax year?

Are you also able to give 250GBP to any other people as birthday/Christmas presents as well or does the 3000GBP already gifted limit what you can give as presents.

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

[AGoodman]

You can give as much as you want and the gifts are tax free provided you survive 7 years - if you don't they are taken into account when calculating any inheritance tax on your estate but the recipients are only at risk of tax if you have made gifts in excess of £325,000 during that 7 year period.

The limits you are discussing are full exemptions - so they are completely ignored for tax - and yes, you can use different exemptions for the same people in the same year. The £3,000 limit is per year, the £250 is an additional exemption per recipient per year.

[strawn]

yes, you can use different exemptions for the same people in the same year. The £3,000 limit is per year, the £250 is an additional exemption per recipient per year.

I'm sure I've read somebody saying that those two exemptions can't be combined for a recipient in a tax year. Can anyone with professional expertise tell us the up-to-date position?

P.S. Google's AI agrees with me. But it could be hallucinating. (I've twice been told lies by that service.)

[AGoodman]

Quite right. Rather oddly, you can only claim the small gifts exemption if the total gifts made to that person during the year are less than £250. You couldn't therefore use both.

You live and learn.