Thus if you sign over your home to your children it must not be on the basis that you continue to live in it. The revenue treats such arrangements as a 'gift with reservation'. In order to avoid Inheritance tax totally you must survive for seven years from the date of the gift. If you survive for less than seven years the gift is taxed on a sliding scale. The longer you survive after the gift is made the lower the rate of tax applied.
Timing is important.
You cannot predict how long you will live and you must also retain enough money to live comfortably on in your retirement. So you must strike a careful balancing act between avoiding tax and leaving yourself short. Small Gifts You can reduce your estate by giving small gifts of up to 3,000 per year. If no gift was made the year before then it can be carried over for one year. You can also make gifts from income.