Ricky Gervais and Inheritance Tax: Why Marriage Can Save a Surviving Partner Millions

Ricky Gervais and inheritance tax (IHT) made an unlikely pairing in the headlines this month. In an interview with Saga Magazine, reported in August 2026, the comedian said that inheritance tax would be the only reason he would marry Jane Fallon, his partner since 1982. He asked, reasonably enough, how much more married a couple could be after sharing their money and their home for four decades. As a matter of tax law, the answer is that the certificate makes a very large difference.

Many couples in long term relationships assume that time together gives them the same rights and privileges as a married couple. It does not. Under the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984), a surviving spouse or civil partner can usually inherit without any inheritance tax being charged at all. An unmarried partner, however long the relationship, is treated in the same way as a friend or a distant relative.

This article explains how the IHT spouse exemption works, what happens when an unmarried partner dies, how a late marriage or civil partnership is treated, and where the exemption has limits or the separate rules on cohabitants’ claims in Scotland.

Inheritance tax on death is charged as though the deceased had made a transfer of value equal to their whole estate immediately before death (IHTA 1984 s.4). The first £325,000 is charged at 0% (the nil rate band) and the balance at 40% (s.7 and Schedule 1). The government has fixed the nil rate band and the residence nil rate band at their current levels up to and including 2030 to 2031 (HMRC policy paper: Inheritance Tax thresholds).

The spouse exemption sits in IHTA 1984 s.18. A transfer of value is exempt to the extent that the value transferred is attributable to property which becomes part of the estate of the transferor’s spouse or civil partner. There is no upper limit in the ordinary case, and the exemption applies both to lifetime gifts and to property passing on death. HMRC’s own summary is that there is normally no inheritance tax to pay if everything above the threshold is left to a spouse or civil partner.

Who counts as a spouse?

IHTA 1984 does not define “spouse” or “civil partner”, so the meaning comes from general law. HMRC’s Inheritance Tax Manual at IHTM11032 confirms that the exemption applies to people who are lawfully married, or in a civil partnership, at the time of the transfer. This includes couples who are separated but not yet divorced. It expressly excludes people who live together without being lawfully married, however long the relationship may have lasted, as well as parties to a bigamous marriage and former spouses who divorced before the transfer.

Why the legal status matters more than the relationship

The point Ricky Gervais made is an emotional one: a couple who have pooled their finances for 40 years are, in every practical sense, a family unit. The tax system does not look at that reality. It looks only at legal status. The same approach was tested in Burden v United Kingdom, where two elderly sisters who had lived together all their lives argued that denying them an equivalent exemption was discriminatory. The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights rejected the claim in 2008, holding that marriage and civil partnership create a distinct legal relationship which the state is entitled to treat differently.

Inheritance tax is charged on the partner’s estate

Where an unmarried partner leaves their estate to the survivor, the spouse exemption is simply not available. Everything above the deceased’s available nil rate band is charged at 40%. This includes their share of a jointly owned home. If the couple own the property as joint tenants, the deceased’s share passes to the survivor automatically, but its value still forms part of the deceased’s estate for inheritance tax.

The practical consequence can be severe. The survivor may inherit a half share of the family home and an inheritance tax bill at the same time, with little cash in the estate to pay it. Tax on land and buildings can usually be paid in ten annual instalments (IHTA 1984 s.227), but interest may still run on the unpaid balance and the survivor may ultimately need to sell or borrow.

Unused allowances are lost

The transfer of an unused nil rate band under IHTA 1984 s.8A only applies where the deceased had a spouse or civil partner immediately before death. An unmarried partner cannot inherit the deceased’s unused band. The residence nil rate band is also of no help, because it only applies where the home is “closely inherited” by lineal descendants and their spouses (s.8K). A partner is not a lineal descendant.

There is no automatic right to inherit without a will

In England and Wales, where someone dies without a valid will, their estate passes under the intestacy rules in the Administration of Estates Act 1925 s.46. An unmarried partner has no entitlement under those rules at all. By contrast, a surviving spouse or civil partner takes the whole estate where there are no children, and where there are children takes the personal possessions, a fixed sum of £322,000 (SI 2023/758) and half of the balance.

An unmarried partner who has lived with the deceased as a couple for the whole of the two years before death can apply to court under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 s.1. However, the award is limited to what is reasonable for their maintenance, which is a lower standard than applies to a surviving spouse. Claims are expensive, uncertain and often contested by the deceased’s relatives.

Where the first spouse or civil partner to die does not use all of their nil rate band, usually because everything passed to the survivor under the exemption, the unused percentage is added to the survivor’s nil rate band on their later death (IHTA 1984 s.8A). The increase is capped at 100%, so the maximum available on the second death is currently £650,000. Because the calculation works on a percentage, the transferred amount is based on the nil rate band in force when the survivor dies.

The transfer is not automatic. The survivor’s personal representatives must claim it, normally within two years from the end of the month in which the survivor dies, or within three months of first acting as personal representatives if that is later (s.8B). In practice the claim is made on form IHT402, supported by evidence of the first estate. Couples should keep the first death’s paperwork safely, sometimes for decades.

Residence nil rate band and couples without children

The residence nil rate band adds up to £175,000 where a home passes to lineal descendants (s.8D). Children, grandchildren, stepchildren, adopted and foster children qualify, but nieces, nephews, siblings and friends do not (s.8K). Any unused residence nil rate band can pass to a surviving spouse or civil partner, but the allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 by which the estate exceeds £2,000,000. A single residence nil rate band is therefore lost entirely on an estate above £2,350,000.

For couples without children, or with estates well above the taper threshold, the residence nil rate band will usually be irrelevant. In those cases the spouse exemption and the transferable nil rate band are the only allowances that change the outcome.

Yes. Section 18 requires the couple to be lawfully married or civil partners at the time of the transfer, and nothing more (IHTM11032). There is no minimum period of marriage, and a marriage shortly before death qualifies in the same way as one lasting fifty years. The marriage must, however, be valid under general law. Where one party lacked the mental capacity to marry, the marriage and the resulting inheritance can be challenged by other family members.

Marriage usually revokes an existing will

In England and Wales, a will is revoked by the testator’s marriage (Wills Act 1837 s.18). The exception is a will which shows that it was made in expectation of marriage to a particular person and that it was intended to survive that marriage. A couple who marry for tax reasons without updating their wills may find that the intestacy rules apply instead. For a couple without children, the surviving spouse would then take everything, and any intended gifts to relatives, friends or charities would fall away.

Civil partnership as an alternative

For couples who share Ricky Gervais’s scepticism of marriage, a civil partnership may be worth considering. Civil partners receive exactly the same inheritance tax treatment as  married couples, including the spouse exemption and the ability to pass on any unused tax free allowance.

Gifts made on marriage

Gifts made in consideration of a marriage or civil partnership are exempt up to £5,000 from a parent, £2,500 from a grandparent or from one party to the other, and £1,000 from anyone else (IHTA 1984 s.22). Once the couple are married, gifts between them are covered by the unlimited spouse exemption in any event.

Where only one spouse is a long-term UK resident

From 6 April 2025, inheritance tax exposure depends on long term UK residence rather than domicile. HMRC treats a person as based abroad if they have lived in the UK for less than 10 of the last 20 years. Where the transferor is a long term UK resident but their spouse or civil partner is not, the exemption is capped at the nil rate band of £325,000, less any amount already used (IHTA 1984 s.18(2) and (2A)). An election regime exists in s.267ZA, but it was restructured by the 2025 reforms and specialist advice is needed before relying on it.

Conditional and delayed gifts

The exemption does not apply where a gift to a spouse only takes effect after another interest or period ends, or depends on a condition not met within 12 months of the transfer (s.18(3)). A will that requires the spouse to survive for a stated period is permitted.

Pensions from 6 April 2027

Most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will fall within inheritance tax from 6 April 2027, although death in service benefits from registered schemes will be excluded. Section 18 now contains a new subsection (3A) which extends the spouse exemption to pension benefits that a surviving spouse or civil partner receives from the scheme. No equivalent protection exists for an unmarried partner, so the gap between married and unmarried couples will widen from 2027.

The difference between married and unmarried couples extends well beyond inheritance tax, and it matters particularly for couples with rental property.

• Capital gains tax. Transfers between spouses or civil partners who live together are treated as giving rise to neither a gain nor a loss (TCGA 1992 s.58). A gift of a buy to let share to an unmarried partner is treated as a disposal at market value under TCGA 1992 s.17, and any gain is taxable.

• Rental income. Income from property held jointly by spouses or civil partners who live together is taxed in equal shares by default (ITA 2007 s.836), unless the couple make a declaration of unequal beneficial ownership on form 17 (s.837). Unmarried couples are simply taxed on their actual shares.

• Ownership structure. Joint tenants pass their share automatically to the survivor, while tenants in common can leave their share by will. Neither structure changes the inheritance tax position for an unmarried couple.

Worked Example: Inheritance Tax on Married and Unmarried Couples UK

Daniel and Claire have lived together for 40 years and have no children. Each has an estate of £6,000,000, including a half share of their London home and a buy to let portfolio. Each leaves everything to the other. Daniel dies in the 2026 to 2027 tax year and Claire dies eight years later, so quick succession relief does not apply. We assume no growth in values, no lifetime gifts, no reliefs and a nil rate band still at £325,000 when Claire dies. The residence nil rate band is not available because neither has lineal descendants, and it would in any event be tapered away at these values.

Marriage reduces the total tax by £1,492,000. Both couples use two nil rate bands in total, so the saving does not come from the extra band. It arises because, without the exemption, the £3,730,000 Claire inherits after tax is taxed a second time on her death. The married couple also pay nothing on the first death, so Claire keeps full use of the assets during her lifetime.

These figures are illustrative. The correct tax treatment depends on the specific facts.

Ricky Gervais and inheritance tax has struck a chord because many long term couples are in exactly the same position without realising it. The rules look simple, but the interaction between the spouse exemption, the transferable and residence nil rate bands, the intestacy rules, the residence test and the pension changes due in 2027 is not. Small details, such as whether a will survives a marriage or how a property is owned, can change the outcome by a very large sum.

Getting the position wrong usually only becomes apparent after a death, when it is too late to fix. An unmarried survivor may face a bill running into seven figures and pressure to sell the family home. A couple who marry without updating their wills may unintentionally disinherit the people and causes they care about. Advice taken while both partners are alive is far more effective than any action available to executors afterwards.

This article reflects the law as at 24 September 2026 and draws on IHTA 1984, TCGA 1992, ITA 2007, the Wills Act 1837, the Administration of Estates Act 1925, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 and published HMRC guidance, including IHTM11032. Ricky Gervais’s comments are as reported in the press from his interview with Saga Magazine.

Frequently Asked Questions About IHT on Unmarried Couples