Marriage might be an unlikely winner from Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ controversial first budget.
Whilst there have been no changes to inheritance tax allowances, more assets, most notably unspent pension funds on death, will be included in estates for inheritance tax purposes in future.
This means that unmarried couples who might not have seen the value in getting married previously might be tempted to tie the knot if it means that this would reduce a potential inheritance tax liability.
Spouses, and civil partners, benefit from an inheritance tax exemption which means that the whole of their partners estate can be transferred to them with no inheritance tax payable at all.
This exemption doesn’t apply to cohabiting partners who are not married or civil partners. Whilst the rules on this haven’t changed, the new rules which treat unspent pension funds as part of an estate for inheritance tax purposes might make a few unmarried couples reconsider and get hitched.
It’s not the most romantic reason to get married but it’s been used by many older couples with sizeable estates over the years, and as allowances get squeezed further it might have an even broader appeal.