Inheritance tax (IHT) receipts for April to December 2025 reached £6.6bn, up £200m from the same period in 2024, according to the latest HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) figures.
The data show a sharp increase in self-assessment payments in December, which rose to £3.1bn, a 25% year-on-year jump.
Rising asset values, including property and stock prices, combined with a frozen IHT threshold, are pushing more people into paying the tax.
The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that IHT would raise £9.1bn during the current tax year. The latest figures, combined with measures announced in the last Budget, suggest the government remains firmly on track to meet that target with three months still to go.
Nicholas Hyett, investment manager at Wealth Club, said: “The government has made a pig’s ear of inheritance tax reform. Crack downs on farmers and business owners have been unpopular, damaging, and ultimately unworkable.”
“The combination of frozen thresholds and expanded scope mean the government’s share of inheritances will continue to increase for the rest of this decade and beyond. That won’t change until thresholds are unfrozen or the dogs’ dinner of policy mistakes and subsequent U-turn succeeds in making us all poorer,” he added.
Capital gains tax receipts fall sharply as investors hold back
