HM Revenue and Customs has announced another Inheritance Tax increase for April to September at £4.4 billion.
This is £100m higher than the same period last year, with an increase of 2.3%.
Wealth Club investment manager Nicholas Hyett says: “The November budget is rapidly approaching and is expected to raise billions more in tax revenues. The Chancellor shook the IHT piggy bank pretty hard last year, but that doesn’t mean she won’t come back looking for more.
“The long-term freeze in IHT allowances is driving an inexorable rise in inheritance taxes, but it won’t deliver a quick tax windfall. Tinkering with things like IHT relief on AIM shares or putting further restrictions on business and agricultural relief probably doesn’t move the needle in the short term either.”
And Ian Dyall, head of estate planning at Evelyn Partners, adds: “The Treasury is on course for another record-breaking year of revenues from IHT. With the nil-rate band frozen at £325,000 since 2009 and the residence nil-rate band static at £175,000, fiscal drag is quietly pulling thousands more families into the IHT net as asset values increase year-by-year.”
Key Advice and Air chief executive Will Hale comments: “Given the well documented pressure on UK public finances, it is likely that the November Budget will see further tax measures introduced that will require careful consideration by customers and their advisers if financial plans, in life and in death, are to be fulfilled.
“This is no longer a problem just for the rich and all families should be seeking advice to understand potential implications and the options available to mitigate the impact. £3.7trn of property wealth sits in the hands of the over 55s, so later life lending solutions need to be central to all financial planning considerations around funding older age and intergenerational wealth transfer.”
