IHT receipts grow to record £4.9bn in 2016-17

Up 4% year-on-year

The taxman collected almost £4.9bn in inheritance tax (IHT) in 2016/17, according to its latest figures, representing the highest level of IHT receipts since the current system was introduced in 1986.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said the £4.9bn figure represented a 4% growth on the previous year. The tax receipts had already grown 22% between the two years prior, due to an "uncommonly high number of deaths in the months leading up to 2015-16". Hargreaves Lansdown chartered financial planner Danny Cox said the Treasury had benefited from the booming housing market and rising asset values. "Despite the new tax break for the family home, IHT receipts are set to break records again this year," he said. While HMRC released the overall IHT figure for 2016-17, it also published detailed I...