Inheritance tax receipts raise £1.4bn in two months

Inheritance tax receipts hit £1.4bn in just the first two months of the 2024/25 tax year according to the latest HMRC figures.

This is £200m higher than the same period in the previous tax year, and continues the upward trend over the last two decades.

In the 2023/24 tax year inheritance tax raised £7.5 bn in revenue for HMRC.

However, that could increase dramatically should the Labour Party win the election.

A pledge to restrict non-doms from shifting money offshore is expected to raise £430m a year, equivalent to a 6% increase in the overall inheritance tax take.

Nicholas Hyett, investment manager at Wealth Club, said: “Inheritance tax is a hot topic this election. Labour are targeting non-doms who shelter their money abroad and the Conservatives have accused Labour of harbouring secret plans to go further – with inheritance tax notably absent from the list of taxes in the Labour manifesto that will not be increased.

“The reality is that inheritance tax would likely rise under either of the two main parties. Freezes on thresholds over the last few years, partnered with decades of house price rises have brought more and more estates into the tax band.”