Which kind of legacy?

You can leave the British Library a share of your estate, a sum of money, or a specific item. Because we are a charity, the value of this gift will be deducted by the Inland Revenue from the value of your estate before any inheritance tax liability is calculated - so what might have had to be paid in tax can instead be diverted to directly supporting a world-class institution dedicated to sharing knowledge.

• Defining how your gift is used
• Giving a portion of your estate
• Leaving a sum of money
• Giving a specific item
• Get in touch

Defining how your gift is used

You can say in your Will that you would like to leave it up to the British Library how to use your legacy, so we can take advantage of opportunities at the time (this is covered by 'general purposes' in the statements below). Or you can specify an area of work you would like to support. We want to be able to fulfil your wishes, so please get in touch to talk this over.

Giving a portion of your estate

After you have ensured your family and friends receive exactly the percentage of your estate that you want them to, you may wish to leave whatever is left over to the British Library. This is called a residuary gift.

Suggested wording for a residuary gift
" I give ____% of my residuary estate to the British Library of 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB for its general purposes and I declare that the receipt of an authorised officer shall be full and sufficient discharge to my Executors. "

Leaving a sum of money

A gift of a specified sum of money is called a pecuniary gift. You can arrange for it to be 'index-linked' so that its value doesn't get eaten away by inflation over the years.

Suggested wording for a pecuniary gift
" I give the sum of £__________ to the British Library of 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB for its general purposes and I declare that the receipt of an authorised officer shall be full and sufficient discharge to my Executors."

Suggested wording for a pecuniary gift that keeps up with inflation
" I give the sum of money produced by dividing the sum of £_______ by the index figure in the Index of Retail Prices ('the Index') for the month in which this Will is executed and (having made allowance for any re-basing of the Index which may have happened in the meantime) multiplying it by the Index figure in the Index for the month in which my death occurs, to the British Library of 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB for its general purposes and I declare that the receipt of an authorised officer shall be full and sufficient discharge to my Executors."

Giving a specific item

Sometimes people wish to leave us a specific asset from their estate. This might be a portfolio of shares, or the proceeds from the sale of a house. It might also be a collection of rare books which the Library does not hold - in this case, please get in touch so we can check with our curatorial staff that we will be able to fulfil your wishes.

Suggested wording for a gift of assets
" I give _________ to the British Library of 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB and I declare that the receipt of an authorised officer shall be full and sufficient discharge to my Executors."

Suggested wording for the sale of assets
"I instruct my executors to sell for the best possible price the following: ________ and to give the net proceeds free of all tax to the British Library of 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB for its general purposes and I declare that the receipt of an authorised officer shall be full and sufficient discharge to my Executors."

Get in touch

If you are considering a gift in your Will to the British Library, and would like more information or to talk through options with us, please get in touch. If you have already added a gift to your Will, we would appreciate being able to say thank you, and to invite you to our Annual Literary Dinner. Please contact Paul Dennett, Head of Charitable Giving, on +44 (0) 20 7412 7237 or legacies@bl.uk