Recent reports from legacy professionals have indicated that charities fundraisers may be feeling the impact of delayed correspondence from HM Revenue & Customs.
According to some members of the Institute of Legacy Management, communication with the HMRC has been noticeably slower than normal and has, in turn, affected their financial planning.
The ILM state that HMRC have reported that delays are longer than usual, at up to six or eight weeks. However, several members of the body have allegedly experienced delays which are much more significant – lasting up to six months in some cases.
They believe that this increase in delays could be down to an upsurge in executors trying to obtain probate following the announcement of the probate fee reform earlier in the year. Rather than the current flat cost, the proposals would see probate fees grow proportionately with the value of an estate. Whilst these were shelved in the run-up to June’s snap election, there has been speculation as to whether they will feature in tomorrow’s Budget.
Commenting on the impact of the delays was Chris Millward. The ILM’s CEO stated: “Gifts in wills are a vital source of income for charities, worth more than £2.5bn every year. The current delays are having an impact on charities’ ability to honour generous donors’ final wishes in a timely manner. Charities need to know when they can expect to receive these donations to be able to plan how the money will be used to support beneficiaries. If a charity has committed money to a project because they reasonably expected a donation to be received, delays can be really disruptive and stop services being provided where they are needed.
“We’re asking HMRC to provide clarity on what is causing these delays, and when they will be resolved. We’re keen to open up a channel of communication with HMRC to enable us to help legacy administrators better understand the issues HMRC is facing.”
