Yes — and it costs your estate less than you think
Gifts to UK-registered charities in a will are completely exempt from inheritance tax. If your estate is over the tax threshold, every pound you leave to charity is a pound the tax bill never sees — so a £10,000 gift can effectively cost your family £6,000 in lost inheritance once the 40% tax saving is counted.
Cash gift or share of the residue?
- A fixed cash gift is simple and certain — but inflation erodes it, so review the figure every few years.
- A percentage of the residue scales with your estate automatically and is often fairer between charity and family — 5% to a cause you love still leaves 95% with the people you love.
The 10% rule: a lower rate on everything else
Leave at least 10% of your net estate to charity and the inheritance tax rate on the rest drops from 40% to 36%. For larger estates the saving can be substantial — sometimes a bigger gift to charity leaves the family barely worse off at all, because the taxman funds most of the difference.
Name the charity precisely
Charities share similar names, merge, and occasionally close. Always use the full registered name and the registered charity number — both appear on the charity's website and the Charity Commission register. Well-drafted wills also say the gift should take effect for any successor organisation if the named charity has merged, so a reorganisation does not sink your gift.
Making it official
A charitable gift needs nothing more exotic than a properly signed and witnessed will — see what a will costs for the honest price landscape. You can make your will in about 15 minutes with SwiftWill for a one-time £35, charitable gifts included, with free updates for life. One caveat: if a large gift to charity would leave dependants short, they may have a claim against the estate — that is a conversation to have with a solicitor.