Halifax has warned that the Government's inheritance tax income will have grown by 244% to £5.5 billion a year by 2020. The provider has estimated that the number of properties in the UK valued at more than the 2006/7 inheritance tax threshold of £285,000 now stands at 1.5 million, or 8% of all owner occupied properties, and could almost triple to 4.2 million properties by 2020 if the threshold is only increased in line with retail price inflation.
Figures from HM Revenue and Customs have shown that the number of estates with assets of less than £500,000 that pay inheritance tax has increased by 70% since 1996.
Our view
What Halifax has ignored is that in Gordon Brown's March Budget he attacked trusts and based upon this many more Trusts and Wills will fall foul of new laws meaning that even more estates will have to pay tax.
We estimate that over 4m Wills are affected. Need some help? Book a FREE callback.