On 11 March 2026, Friends of the Nations’ Libraries (FNL) in collaboration with RLUK, held a virtual briefing to explain how the Acceptance in Lieu (AIL), Cultural Gifts Schemes (CGS), and private treaty sales work and how they can benefit institutions, depositors, and donors. A recording of the briefing can be watched below.

The main speakers at this event were Anastasia Tennant, Joan Winterkorn and Mark Purcell, all with long and detailed knowledge and experience of AIL and CGS. We also heard case studies from Robert Baxter (Cumbria Archives) and Chris Fletcher (Bodleian Libraries) about acquired collections that benefitted from these schemes, and about the support that FNL can offer for such acquisitions.

The UK tax code offers incentives to owners of important cultural and heritage items to transfer them to record offices, libraries, museums and galleries and specialist collecting institutions, ensuring that significant collections are saved for the nation and are made accessible.

Acceptance in Lieu is a provision in British tax law under which inheritance tax liabilities can be discharged in exchange for the transfer of objects and archives of national importance.  

The Cultural Gifts Scheme allows taxpayers to make a donation of objects and archives in return for a reduction to their income, capital gains or corporation tax. 

Private treaty sales to those bodies listed in Schedule 3 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 are exempt from capital taxation – inheritance tax, capital gains tax and from April 2009 corporation tax on companies’ gains. FNL is one of the bodies listed on Schedule 3 so can act as a conduit if your organisation is not a Schedule 3 body.

Chaired by Jess Gardner, University Librarian and Director of Library Services, University of Cambridge

Speakers:

  • Anastasia Tennant, Tennant McQuillan LLP, Cultural Property Advisor
  • Dr Mark Purcell, Director of Research and Collections, University of Cambridge and current AIL Panel member
  • Joan Winterkorn, Archives & Manuscript Consultant and past member of the AIL Panel, and FNL Trustee
  • Robert Baxter, Senior Archivist, Cumbria Archives
  • Dr Chris Fletcher, Keeper of Collections, Bodleian Libraries