Milo Don is absolutely right. It is a commonly held misunderstanding that any gift will get taper relief if the donor dies within 7 years. In fact, the taxman, in his wisdom, has decided that the first £325k of any gift should be applied to your 'nil rate band' and only any amount above that qualify for taper relief. Thus, if you gave away £500k and died 6 years and 364 days from the date of the gift, only £175k would benefit from max taper relief.