ABSTRACT
If the property is in joint ownership, a 10% deduction should be made after dividing the share (if in the ownership of more than two persons, up to 15% can usually be deducted).
Consideration should be given in valuing the farmhouse. In the Antrobus case (Worcestershire) it was ruled that the agricultural value of a farmhouse is less than its open market value — possibly a low as
70% which will leave up to 30% of the value of the house chargeable to inheritance tax. This is possibly particularly applicable to small farms or high quality farmhouses which form an undue proportion of the value of the farm as a whole, eg a farm of say 53ha worth as a whole say £1,300,000 but where the value of the farmhouse and gardens is itself worth say £1,000,000 leaving £300,000 as the value for the remaining land and buildings. The McKenna case in Cornwall further reinforced this law. It was stated by the special commissioner that ‘The farmhouse is a dwelling for the farmer from which the farm is managed and that the farmer of the land is the person who farms it on a day-to-day basis.’
