What is Agricultural Property Relief?

A discount for tax purposes on the value of actively farmed agricultural land and property as part of a deceased person’s estate. When determining the value of an estate’s assets in order to calculate inheritance tax, you or your executors may be able to claim agricultural property relief, which reduces the value of agricultural land or pasture by either 100% or 50% so long as it was occupied by the owner for agricultural purposes for at least two years up to the transfer/death; or, in the case of tenanted land, it was owned for at least seven years up to the transfer/death and used for agricultural purposes during that time. Farm buildings, the farm house and woodland can also qualify subject to certain conditions.

The following assets do not qualify for agricultural property relief:

• farm equipment and machinery
• harvested crops
• derelict buildings i.e. buildings no longer capable of being used for agricultural purposes
• livestock
• property for sale for which contracts have been exchanged