IHT receipts up year on year

According to HMRC’s latest statistics*, inheritance tax (IHT) receipts for January 2024 were £556 million, which is slightly lower than January 2023’s figure of £578 million. However, receipts for the first ten months of this tax year (April to January 2024) totalled just over £6.2 billion, which is nearly £0.4 billion higher than in the same period a year earlier. 

12-month rolling IHT receipts since March 2013. Source: Techlink 

Receipts for the 12 months to January 2024 were £7.469 billion, which is considerably higher than the equivalent figure for the 12 months to January 2023, which was £6.909 billion. 

HMRC has also published its annual statistics for 2022/23**, which show that receipts increased to £7.1 billion (0.28% as a proportion of GDP). Its report says this increase was likely due to a combination of the recent rises in asset values and the Government’s decision to maintain the IHT nil rate band thresholds at their 2020/21 levels up to and including 2027/28.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)’s Economic and fiscal outlook*** published on 22 November 2023 forecast the following IHT receipts for the current tax year and future tax years: 

• £7.6 billion for each of 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26; 
• £8.2 billion for 2026/27; £9.0 billion for 2027/28; and 
• £9.8 billion for the following year, 2028/29. 

The current, and predicted future, high IHT receipts should serve as another reminder of the importance of IHT planning and of making full use of any IHT exemptions and reliefs available. Inheritance tax is often referred to as a voluntary tax as there are many ways you can mitigate it, with the right amount of time and planning. For more information about inheritance tax planning, please speak to your usual TPO Adviser. 

Please note: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not regulate estate planning or tax advice.

• *https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk/hmrc-tax-receipts-and-national-insurance-contributions-for-the-uknew-monthly-bulletin#inheritance-tax-iht
• **https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk/hmrc-tax-receipts-and-national-insurance-contributions-for-the-uk-new-annualbulletin#inheritance-tax
• ***https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/E03004355_November-Economic-and-Fiscal-Outlook_Web-Accessible.pdf

The information in this article is correct as of 19/03/2024.