{"id":7290,"date":"2026-10-29T14:31:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T14:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/?p=7290"},"modified":"2026-10-29T14:31:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T14:31:21","slug":"936-million-iht-paid-in-september-why-is-it-no-longer-a-tax-for-the-super-wealthy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/936-million-iht-paid-in-september-why-is-it-no-longer-a-tax-for-the-super-wealthy\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a3936 million IHT paid in September: Why is it no longer a tax for the super-wealthy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Treasury reported a historic \u00a3936 million in Inheritance Tax (IHT) receipts for September \u2013 an increase of \u00a3265 million on the same month last year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The last record was set in June with a staggering \u00a3871 million, with September reflecting the firm upward trend in IHT receipts, impacting a growing proportion of families.<\/p>\n

While a family home, pension and a modest amount of savings may not have created a liability a generation ago, you may no longer have to be \u2018super wealthy\u2019 to be exposed.<\/p>\n

Why have Inheritance Tax receipts increased?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The mechanism behind the record IHT receipts<\/a> is known as \u2018fiscal drag.\u2019<\/p>\n

While the rate of IHT remains at 40 per cent, taxpayers become liable for more tax because thresholds have not risen in proportion with inflation.<\/p>\n

In fact, the standard nil-rate band of \u00a3325,000 and the residence nil-rate band of \u00a3175,000 have been frozen and are not due to increase until 2031.<\/p>\n

Frozen thresholds mean the rising value of houses, investments and other assets is more likely to pull estates into the IHT net.<\/p>\n

As a result, IHT revenue has been steadily climbing for several years and will likely follow the same trajectory over the coming years.<\/p>\n

An estate may have been worth \u00a3300,000 15 years ago, but the same assets could now exceed \u00a3500,000 due to property inflation and investment growth. This would create an IHT liability.<\/p>\n

Families may associate IHT with the highly affluent fringes of society, but they may themselves be exposed.<\/p>\n

Consequently, it is important to regularly review estate plans with a financial professional to evaluate the potential IHT liability for beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

The addition of unspent pensions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

From 6 April 2027, unspent pension funds and death benefits are set to be included in the value of a taxable estate.<\/p>\n

If the rising value of assets is sufficient to tip families over the nil-rate band, the addition of pension funds to an estate is likely to have a substantial impact.<\/p>\n

For married couples living in the UK, the first death of a spouse still allows estates to be transferred to their partner without IHT to pay.<\/p>\n

The individual nil-rate allowance is also transferred, meaning that an IHT-free allowance of up to \u00a3650,000 is available to the surviving spouse.<\/p>\n

Where qualifying residence is passed on, additional nil-rate bands may push IHT allowances up to as much as \u00a31 million.<\/p>\n

While unspent pensions can also be passed to a spouse without tax, the leftover funds from a second death might then be subject to the 40 per cent rate.<\/p>\n

If both partners have a large share of their pension left over, the addition of these assets to their estate might comfortably push it above the IHT threshold.<\/p>\n

The combination of both fiscal drag and the addition of unspent pension funds to an estate is likely to lead to more families paying IHT.<\/p>\n

Speak to an accountant<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It is common for families to underestimate the value of their assets, assuming there will be no IHT charged, but this is not always the case.<\/p>\n

Our accountants can audit the value of your estate, including property, investments, pensions and other assets, to calculate your potential IHT liability.<\/p>\n

Where old advice might have promoted saving pensions and spending other assets to minimise IHT, we can advise on new strategies that factor in the addition of pensions to estates.<\/p>\n

To minimise the IHT bill facing beneficiaries, speaking to a professional at an early stage can allow you to benefit from the estate planning opportunities available.<\/p>\n

Unsure whether your estate may be exposed to Inheritance Tax? Speak to our accountants for expert tax planning advice.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Treasury reported a historic \u00a3936 million in Inheritance Tax (IHT) receipts for September \u2013 an increase of \u00a3265 million on the same month last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,125,54,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7290"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7290"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7291,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7290\/revisions\/7291"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}