Inheritance tax (IHT) receipts in the UK hit £7.1bn through the first ten months of the 2025-26 financial year – an increase of £130m compared to the same period last year, putting the taxman on track to rake in a record amount from IHT this year.
Looking further ahead, IHT receipts are expected to continue to rise with pension assets set to be subject to IHT from April 2027, which is expected to push the IHT take to £14.5bn by 2030-31, marking an increase of 67% over a five-year period, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s estimates.
Advisers have been looking for myriad ways to help mitigate clients’ IHT receipts ahead of the change to pension rules, which is expected to immediately drag around 10,500 more estates with pension wealth into the IHT net, representing around 1.5% of UK deaths.
Offshore bonds have seen a surge in interest from advisers looking to help clients escape the IHT net.
David Cooper, director at retirement specialist Just Group, said: “Inheritance Tax is an important and growing source of tax revenue for the Treasury and looks set to creep past last year’s total and notch up a fifth consecutive annual high.
“The combination of frozen thresholds and rising asset prices combined has both widened the tax base and increased total receipts. The new policies announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 will only build on this momentum over the coming years.
“An increasing number of estates will tip over the thresholds, and the inclusion of pension wealth could see Inheritance Tax becoming a consideration for more people. The OBR estimates that around one in ten estates will be liable by 2030-31.”
