The Editor
Q&A: Inheritance tax and debts
After the death of my father, my mother moved into a residential care home. The fees are paid for through her savings and rent from her former home. There is a regular shortfall, however, and there have also been rental voids. I cover all these gaps from my own pocket and so far I have spent about 拢15,000 on fees. In the past I have also made loans to my mother totalling 拢30,000 for repairs to the roof of her house and to supplement her pension income. If after her death I choose not to sell her house, which has an estimated value of around 拢1m and which she says has been left to me, but continue to rent it out, am I correct in thinking that I will be allowed to receive back the total of the money I have spent (currently 拢45,000) without having to pay tax on that sum? P Wallace