Record IHT tax take

HMRC sees record £5.4bn IHT take HMRC pulled in a record £5.4bn in inheritance tax (IHT) in 2018/19, marking a £166m – or 3% - increase on the previous year. Rising property prices and an unchanged tax-free allowance has meant more people are paying IHT than ever before. More than 28,000 estates were subject to the death duty in 2016/17 – a 15% increase on the year before – according to the latest HMRC figures. While 4.2% of UK deaths resulted in an inheritance tax bill in 2015/16, 4.6% did in 2016/17, with the Revenue noting that this falls short of the historic high of 5.9% in 2006/07. Estates valued at £1m or more accounted for 72% of the total inheritance tax paid in 2016/17 and represented 3% of estates requiring probate while estates valued at less than £1m accounted for £1.4bn of inheritance tax and around 97% of all estates requiring probate. Experts have said the inheritance tax boom is likely to continue, despite new protections that allow families to pass on more of their property wealth without incurring tax.