Inheritance tax brought in nearly £600m a month, as experts warn that frozen threshold is punishing taxpayers
Inheritance tax (IHT)receipts for January 2023 totalled £578m up from £443m in the same month a year ago, according to HMRC figures.
It takes the total inheritance tax take for the 2022-23 Financial Year to date to £5.9 billion, £853 million higher than through the same period last year.
The total IHT take for 2021-22 – the last full financial year)- was £6.1bn, meaning this year is £178m short of that.
Stephen Lowe, group communications director at retirement specialist Just Group, said this year looks set to beat that record as well as possibly surpassing official estimates for 2025-26 of £6.8 bn.
Lowe said: “The Chancellor has struck a seam of gold with recent inheritance tax receipts as he looks set to receive another record haul this financial year – and with more to come.
“Receipts are likely to race past official predictions for the next few years. The OBR forecast a tax-take of £6.7bn for the current financial year rising to £6.8bn by 2025-2026 but with receipts averaging £588m a month this year, inheritance tax receipts are on track to exceed £7 bn this year.
“The combination of frozen thresholds and property prices that have soared over the years mean that receipts could continue to grow over the coming years.
“While it’s good news for the Treasury there will be many people for whom an inheritance tax bill will be a nasty shock. These figures provide a reminder for people to assess the value of their estate regularly, taking into account an up-to-date valuation of any property they own.”
Can EIS investing help save on inheritance tax?
John Glencross, chief executive and Co-Founder of Calculus, said: “Inheritance tax (IHT) receipts will continue to remain high given the freezing of IHT thresholds for two more years.
“One area that advisers and investors could consider helping mitigate against IHT is by investing in an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), as full inheritance tax relief is provided, for the life of the investment once the shares have been held for two years.
“An EIS Fund provides investors with the opportunity to not only benefit from the diversified, strong performing and tax efficient nature of its products, but to also support innovative UK companies with a societal purpose and impact with at least 80 per cent of the fund’s capital invested into businesses carrying out research and development to create new intellectual property.”