Dominic Coyle answers your financial questions

Inheritance tax between siblings

In a recent answer, you stated that "while the extension limit under the inheritance tax regime is quite generous from parent to child or vice-versa, the same cannot be said of the threshold for property passing between siblings or other linear relations".

My sister and I jointly own a house worth €170,000. What happens when one of us dies? What would the inheritance tax, if any, be on this property? The house is our only dwelling.

P.G., Kerry

You are right that, in general, a transfer of assets, such as property, between linear relations under a will is not treated as advantageously as a similar transfer between a parent and a child or vice-versa.

However, there is a provision specifically designed to accommodate the situation in which you and your sister find yourselves.

The rapid rise in the price of property led to a situation where a sibling leaving part of a house they shared with a close relative was being forced to sell what was effectively their own home. As a result, Charlie McCreevy introduced changes during his time as minister for finance.

This led to a situation where the transfer of a home is exempt from inheritance tax where it has been the main residence of the recipient for the previous three years and where the recipient has no other home.

The recipient must continue to reside in the property for six years after the inheritance.

Looking at your situation as you have outlined it, I cannot see you or your sister having to worry about a tax bill in the case of this house.

On a related point, there has been a fair bit of correspondence about the initial statement on thresholds.

The inheritance threshold under the capital acquisitions tax regime from parent to child also applies the other way - from child to parent.

However, this is not the case in relation to gifts under CAT. These are classed as transactions under the B threshold between linear relations where the current tax-tree limit is €46,673.

Jurys shares

I have shares in Jurys and I keep hearing talk about takeovers. The share price has risen a lot in recent months but fell badly yesterday. What is the situation and what should I do?

Mr C.B., Dublin

Jurys has attracted the attention of several possible suitors in recent months, which has been pushing up the share price. The precipitous fall yesterday came as the bank backing the front-runner, the Precinct consortium that has already acquired the Gresham Hotel Group, withdrew after a developer bought more than 18 per cent of the shares.

If I were you, I would hold still for now. This company is still in play and is likely to be taken over at a price above the level the shares are currently trading.

Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or by e-mail to dcoyle@irish-times.ie. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice.