Does beekeeping qualify for agricultural property relief (APR) or other inheritance tax (IHT) relief?

Whilst there is no comprehensive definition of ‘agriculture’ for Inheritance tax (IHT) purposes in the Inheritance Tax ACT 1984 (IHTA 1984), agricultural property is defined in IHTA 1984, s 115(2) as follows:

‘In this Chapter “agricultural property” means agricultural land or Pasture and includes woodland and any building used in connection with the intensive rearing of livestock or fish if the woodland or building is occupied with agricultural land or pasture and the occupation is ancillary to that of the agricultural land or pasture; and also includes such cottages, farm buildings and farmhouses, together with the land occupied with them, as are of a character appropriate to the property.’

HMRC’s Inheritance Tax Manual: IHTM24061, provides that the following land uses should be accepted as for the ‘purposes of agriculture’ within the meaning of IHTA 1984, s 117:

1. •

   cultivation to produce food for human and animal consumption—‘food’