HMRC’s IHT haul hits four-year high

HMRC pulled in £274m from 5,638 inheritance tax investigations in 2019/20, the highest total in four years. The average yield of almost £50,000 marks an increase of more than a fifth over the past three years. With analysis showing that HMRC now investigates around a quarter of estates that pay IHT, Rachael Griffin of wealth advice firm Quilter said the figures are “shockingly high” and suggest it has become “the norm for HMRC to investigate”. This, she adds, offers “a strong indication that something is amiss” within the “mind-bending complex system”. The Telegraph notes that the Office of Tax Simplification last year proposed sweeping reforms to make IHT easier to understand, while MPs have called for a “radical shake-up” of the levy.