The latest inheritance tax receipts from HMRC, covering April to August, show an increase of £0.1 billion compared to the same period last year, with a total of £3.8 billion.
Receipts in June 2026 were the highest on record. HMRC expects higher receipts to continue due to a combination of higher volumes of wealth transfers following recent liable deaths, rises in asset values, and government decisions to maintain tax free thresholds at 2020 to 2021 levels up to and including 2030 to 2031.
Amit Joshi, managing director of Wealth at Mattioli Woods, said the lack of awareness of frozen thresholds is “concerning”.
“Families often only realise the impact when it’s too late to act. Inheritance tax has become a planning issue by stealth, and the cost of inaction is measured in lost choices, rushed decisions, and unnecessary tax.
“Regularly reviewing wills and estate plans, and seeking professional financial advice, is no longer optional. It’s essential to protect family outcomes, preserve control, and ensure hard-earned wealth goes where it was intended, not where it happens to land.”
Nicholas Smith, head of tax at Duncan & Toplis, agrees. He said: “The individual nil rate band has remained at £325,000 since 2009, while property values and other assets have increased considerably over that period. As a result, families who may not consider themselves particularly wealthy could find that their estates are exposed to a tax liability they had not anticipated.
“The impact goes beyond the amount of tax ultimately payable. An unexpected Inheritance Tax bill can create practical difficulties for families, particularly where much of an estate’s value is tied up in property or a family business rather than readily available cash. Beneficiaries may find themselves having to make difficult decisions about assets at an already challenging time.”
He added: “With the main thresholds set to remain frozen until April 2031, it is important for people to understand their potential exposure and consider their estate planning well in advance. Reviewing wills, considering the ownership and succession of assets, and understanding how available reliefs and exemptions might apply can all help families make informed decisions.”
Will Hale, CEO of Key Equity Release, says the figures underline the importance of advisers discussing intergenerational wealth strategies.
“Increasingly those strategies must include consideration of property wealth”, he added. “Later life lending solutions, including products such as modern lifetime mortgages, are becoming a normalised part of financial planning as the expansion of the equity release market demonstrates with £1.71 billion lent in the first half of the year.
“Inevitably advisers and wealth managers are focusing on the impending inclusion of unused defined contribution pension funds in estates from April next year as a major watershed for IHT and broader estate planning advice. They are right to do so, given that decisions on accumulating assets and then the sequencing of how to drawdown from different pots becomes more complex.”
One Response
The latest rise in Inheritance Tax receipts is a timely reminder that more families are being drawn into the IHT net due to frozen thresholds and increasing asset values.
We are seeing a growing number of clients who take a proactive approach to understanding their potential exposure and implementing clear strategies to address generational wealth and inheritance planning.
Families are recognising that effective estate planning is not simply about reducing tax; it’s about creating certainty, protecting assets, and ensuring wealth passes to future generations in line with their wishes.
The earlier these conversations begin, the greater the opportunities to build a robust long-term legacy strategy for the benefit of the entire family.
#Wills #Trusts #Inheritance #IHT