Ricky Gervais had once said that there were no reasons to tie the knot 'before the eye of God as there is no God.' However, the 65-year old now plans to marry his long-term partner and award-winning novelist Jane Fallon to avoid losing tens of millions of pounds to inheritance tax.
The couple has a combined wealth of just over £142 million. In a recent interview with Saga Magazine, Gervais said he does intend to marry Fallon and agreed that tax would be the reason. The couple has been together for 44 years after meeting at University College London in 1982.
UK inheritance tax rules distinguish sharply between married couples and unmarried partners. HM Revenue & Customs states that people who live together without a legal marriage are not treated as spouses for inheritance tax purposes, regardless of how long they have been together.
However, transfers between spouses or civil partners are generally wholly exempt from inheritance tax, subject to specific rules and exceptions. In simple terms, if one member of an unmarried couple passes away, the surviving partner cannot simply claim the spouse exemption because they have shared a home, finances, or decades of their lives.
The standard inheritance tax nil-rate band is currently £325,000, while the standard inheritance tax rate is 40%.
If Gervais died unmarried and his entire £141 million estate passed to Fallon, excluding debts, previous gifts, reliefs, and other complications, roughly £325,000 would fall within his nil-rate band. That would leave approximately £140.675 million potentially subject to the 40% inheritance tax rate, or a theoretical tax bill of about £56.27 million.
Marriage Also Offers Another Important Advantage
Every individual currently has a £325,000 inheritance tax nil-rate band. Where the first spouse dies without using some or all of that allowance, the unused percentage can be transferred to the surviving spouse.
Consequently, a surviving spouse can potentially have a combined nil-rate band of up to £650,000.
There is also a residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000, but it comes with several conditions. It generally applies where a qualifying home passes to direct descendants, and it is tapered for estates worth over £2 million.
Gervais owns a property portfolio worth millions, including a £14.75 million mansion in Hampstead, North London, multiple flats in New York, and a riverside home in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, where he recently secured permission to build a £5 million mansion.
The newbuild will reportedly feature a grand entrance hall, galleried landing, gym, drawing room, reading area, and master bedroom with a terrace overlooking a pond.
Gervais' comments come as Jane battles breast cancer after she received an early diagnosis caught during a routine mammogram. In April, she shared a positive update after her first surgery, claiming that the doctor had 'basically got it all' before undergoing a successful second operation.
In a podcast earlier this year, Fallon had said: 'I would think about getting a dog or something. It was always about work and my life. I would think about the flat that I would live in and stuff like that. But I was never into that kind of romance stuff.'
Meanwhile, Gervais had reaffirmed his view that they were already married 'for all intents and purposes,' and that their 'fake marriage has lasted longer than a real one.'
