The Government is projected to collect £7.5bn from Inheritance Tax (IHT) this year, a 25% increase in just three years. The figures, based on analysis of HMRC data by Wealth Club, show that Britons paid a record £6bn in IHT in the 2021/22 financial year. Wealth Club predicts that the number of estates paying IHT will rise from 27,800 to 30,300 this year, with the average bill increasing from £215,000 to £248,000. Nicholas Hyett, investment manager at Wealth Club, warns that rising property prices and frozen IHT thresholds are contributing to more people paying the tax. He also suggests that the number of families facing an IHT bill is likely to be higher than reported. With some analysts suggesting that Labour will change the rules around inheritance tax in a bid to pull in more money, Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, comments: "Even if the new government leaves the tax rules unchanged, it's going to rake in more of this tax, and if it chooses to tinker, taxpayers could end up forking out even more."
