Also, don't forget you have a CGT allowance of £10,600 a year, and if you have a partner, putting the property in joint names can double this threshold to £21,200. but the transfer has to be an outright gift. how much tax you end up paying depends on your tax band but doing so can save you up to 28% on the additional threshold.

Council tax is usally paid on all properties. however, discounts and exemptions do apply. Firstly, You may pay less Council Tax if you own or rent a property that isn’t the home where you usually live. Some councils give furnished second homes or holiday homes a discount of between 10 and 50 per cent. Alternatively, You may pay less Council Tax if you own an empty property where no one lives. Homes that have been empty and unfurnished for longer than six months may get an empty homes discount of up to 50 per cent. Find out which councils give discounts here

you're within the limits then.

Your correct to an extent but depends on when your mother died... The thresholdcan only be transferred on the second death, which must have occurred on orafter 9 October 2007 when the rules changed. It doesn’t matter when the firstspouse or civil partner died, although if it was before 1975 the full nil rateband may not be available to transfer, as the amount of spouse exemption was limitedthen. There are some situations when the threshold can’t be transferred butthese are quite rare. great guide to IHT.. http://www.pocockrutherford.com/pdf/guide/IHT2011.pdf