Inheritance tax receipts totalled £6.6 billion in the first nine months of the 2025/26 tax year, official figures from HM Revenue & Customs have revealed.
The figure is £0.2 billion higher than the same period last year, putting the Treasury on course for a fifth consecutive annual record.
A combination of frozen thresholds and rising property prices have pushed an increasing number of estates into the scope of inheritance tax in recent years, with IHT receipts growing by more than 50% over the last five years.
Shaun Moore, tax and financial planning expert at Quilter, said: “What was once viewed as a tax affecting a relatively small minority is increasingly becoming part of mainstream financial planning, including for families who would not traditionally consider themselves wealthy.”
With pensions set to be included in estates for IHT purposes from April 2027, experts warn that more people will be caught by the tax in the coming years.
Will Hale, CEO of Key and Air, commented: “These latest figures should not be a surprise to anyone and provide further evidence that the IHT receipts expected in 2025/26 are on course to be a record.
“Also, given the economic challenges the UK faces and the policies being pursued by this government, we can expect the raid on people’s wealth at death to continue to gather pace in the years ahead.”
Simon Martin, head of UK technical services at Utmost, said of the figures: “The decision at Autumn Budget 2025 to maintain the freeze on nil-rate bands and allowances means that a growing number of estates will be drawn into the IHT net in the years ahead. When set against the structural changes announced a year earlier, inheritance tax is becoming an ever more dependable source of revenue for the Treasury.”
Andrew Tully, technical services director at Nucleus, said “there is still time” for the Government to consider alternative options which increase its tax take on wealthier people passing on pension wealth, while avoiding the “numerous problems” created by bringing pensions into the IHT scope. However, he warned it is “looking increasingly likely it will stubbornly stick with its current complex proposals.”
“Taken together, all of this is likely to make IHT a more relevant issue for many more families within the next five years. Advisers can help clients mitigate these taxes by setting up trusts and making use of gift allowances and the spousal exemption,” he added.
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