Inheritance tax (IHT) receipts totalled £3.06bn in the four months to July, increasing by 8% year-on-year, HMRC has revealed.

The new figure follows the fourth consecutive annual record haul of £8.2bn, which was collected in 2024/25 tax year.

The latest HMRC data comes after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) recent forecast, which was published following the Spring Statement, that suggested IHT receipts are set to reach another record in the current financial year, totalling £9.1bn.

According to the OBR, this figure is set to surpass £14bn by the 2029/30 tax year.

The latest figures have also been released as the Government announced that it would press ahead with plans to apply IHT to unused pension funds and death benefits from 6 April 2027, following a technical consultation.

Chief executive officer at Air and Key Advice, Will Hale, said: “Today’s numbers show another month-on-month rise in IHT receipts. This continues a significant upward trend, with receipts increasing by more than 50% over the past five years and 2025 set to be a record year in terms of taxes raised through this mechanism.

“Furthermore, announcements around the inclusion of pension funds within the IHT regime, musings around the potential for a limit to be applied on lifetime gifting and continued house price inflation means that the government is looking at death as key focus for boosting public finances moving forward.

“Many people who would fall beneath the traditional definition of ‘high-net worth’ are now sleep-walking into a situation where their estates will be subject to significant IHT charges. It is therefore imperative that families seek specialist advice and that this advice includes a consideration of all options for reducing the IHT liability – including modern later life lending solutions such as lifetime mortgages.”

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