Finance Act 1975

6 (1) Transfers of value made by gifts in consideration of marriage are exempt to the extent that the values transferred by such transfers made by any one transferor in respect of any one marriage (calculated as values on which no tax is payable) do not exceed—

(a) in the case of gifts within sub-paragraph (2) below by a parent of a party to the marriage, £5,000 ;

(b) in the case of other gifts within sub-paragraph (2) below, £2,500 ; and

(c) in any other case £1,000 ;

any excess being attributed to the transfers in proportion to the values transferred.

(2) A gift is within this sub-paragraph if—

(a) it is an outright gift to a child or remoter descendant of the transferor, or

(b) the transferor is a parent or remoter ancestor of either party to the marriage, and either the gift is an outright gift to the other party to the marriage or the property comprised in the gift is settled by the gift, or

(c) the transferor is a party to the marriage, and either the gift is an outright gift to the other party to the marriage or the property comprised in the gift is settled by the gift;

and in this paragraph " child" includes an illegitimate child, an adopted child and a step-child and " parent", " descendant" and " ancestor " shall be construed accordingly.

(3) A disposition shall not be treated for the purposes of this paragraph as a gift made in consideration of marriage—

(a) in the case of an outright gift, if or in so far as it is a gift to a person other than a party to the marriage;

(b) in the case of any other disposition, if the persons who are or may become entitled to any benefit under the disposition include any person other than—

(i) the parties to the marriage, issue of the marriage, or a wife or husband of any such issue ;

(ii) persons becoming entitled on the failure of trusts for any such issue under which trust property would (subject only to any power of appointment to a person falling within sub-paragraph (i) or (iii) of this paragraph) vest indefeasibly on the attainment of a specified age or either on the attainment of such an age or on some earlier event, or persons becoming entitled (subject as aforesaid) on the failure of any limitation in tail;

(iii) a subsequent wife or husband of a party to the marriage, or any issue, or the wife or husband of any issue, of a subsequent marriage of either party;

(iv) persons becoming entitled under such trusts, subsisting under the law of England or of Northern Ireland, as are specified in section 33(1) of the [1925 c. 19.] Trustee Act 1925 or section 34(1) of the [1958 c. 23 (N.I.).] Trustee Act (Northern Ireland) 1958 (protective trusts), the principal beneficiary being a person falling within sub-paragraph (i) or (iii) of this paragraph, or under such trusts, modified by the enlargement, as respects any period during which there is no such issue as aforesaid in existence, of the class of potential beneficiaries specified in paragraph (ii) of the said section 33(1) or paragraph (b) of the said section 34(1);

(v) persons becoming entitled under trusts subsisting under the law of Scotland and corresponding with such trusts as are mentioned in sub-paragraph (iv) above ;

(vi) as respects a reasonable amount of remuneration, the trustees of the settlement.

(4) References in sub-paragraph (3) above to issue shall apply as if any person legitimated by a marriage, or adopted by the husband and wife jointly, were included among the issue of that marriage.