Swann welcomes Treasury assurance on Inheritance Tax rules for family farms

South Antrim MP Robin Swann has welcomed new assurances from the Treasury that proposed inheritance tax arrangements for family farms will apply beyond married couples and civil partners, following strong concerns raised by farming organisations in Northern Ireland.

The clarification was provided by Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson after Mr Swann raised the issue in Parliament, highlighting widespread anxiety within the farming community that the proposed rules could unintentionally penalise farms run through wider family partnerships.

Organisations including the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) and the Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU) had warned that the policy risked undermining succession planning and long-term stability for farm families, particularly in Northern Ireland where farms are commonly owned and operated across generations or by extended family members.

During the parliamentary exchange, Mr Swann sought specific clarity on whether examples contained within Government guidance — which refer to jointly owned farms being transferred up to a value of £5.65 million without inheritance tax where siblings are involved — would also apply to other typical Northern Ireland farming arrangements.

These include partnerships between fathers and daughters or sons, as well as uncle–niece or uncle–nephew structures.

Speaking after the exchange, Mr Swann said:

“Representations from Northern Ireland’s farming bodies made clear the danger this policy could pose to succession planning and long-term stability for farm families. Government documents referenced siblings being able to jointly pass on a farm valued up to £5.65 million, so I have pressed the Treasury to confirm whether that same principle would extend to the many intergenerational and wider family partnerships typical in Northern Ireland farming.”

In response, Minister Tomlinson confirmed that the policy is not restricted to spouses or siblings. He explained that individuals within a jointly owned farm business will each be able to use their own allowance, enabling them to pass on assets worth up to £2.5 million to beneficiaries of their choosing.

Minister Tomlinson said:

“They can each pass it on up to £2.5 million to whomever they choose to pass it on to… if a farm was owned, say, by a brother and a sister, the brother could pass up to £2.5 million to whomever he wished and the sister could pass up to £2.5 million to whomever she wished.”

The clarification is expected to provide reassurance to many farm families who had feared that traditional Northern Ireland business structures might be disadvantaged under the proposed arrangements.

Mr Swann said the confirmation better reflects the reality of agricultural life across the region, adding:

“This confirmation means that farms jointly owned by wider family members will be able to benefit from the allowance, rather than it being strictly confined to spouses or siblings. This better reflects the reality of Northern Ireland agriculture.”

He added that he will continue to scrutinise the policy to ensure commitments made by Ministers are clearly reflected in official guidance:

“I will continue to monitor this closely and maintain engagement with the Ulster Farmers’ Union, YFCU and Treasury Ministers to ensure that family farms in Northern Ireland are treated fairly, protected for future generations, and not placed at a disadvantage because of how their family businesses are structured, and that the clarification given to me actual makes it into Government guidance.”

For many farming families, succession planning is not simply a financial issue but one tied closely to heritage, identity and the continuity of rural communities — making clarity and fairness in tax policy a matter of deep personal importance.