Inheritance tax receipts for April to June were £2.2bn, over £100m higher than the same period last year, according to new HMRC figures published today.

The figure is an increase of £134m, or 6%, compared to the same period last year, when £2.09bn was collected in the April to June period.

The OBR’s most recent forecast, published at the Spring Statement, projects another record year coming with IHT predicted to generate £9.1bn for the Treasury in 2025/26 and IHT revenues expected to raise more than £14billion by 2029/30.

Stephen Lowe, director at retirement specialist Just Group, said: “Rising asset prices and frozen thresholds are combining in a pincer movement to drive consecutive record collections of IHT.

“This year’s data, alongside reforms to the system announced at the Autumn Budget, shows that this trend is only set to accelerate in the coming years. It means IHT is becoming an increasingly important revenue raiser for the Treasury amid creaking public finances.”

Ian Dyall, head of estate planning at Financial Planning firm Evelyn Partners, said: “The June figure means that IHT revenues for this financial year so far are running 4.8% ahead of the same period last year. And let’s not forget that last year was a record one.

“Even with the relative softness in the property market suggested by recent house price indices, the trend for more families and more assets attracting IHT liabilities is set to continue as nil rate bands remain frozen.”

He pointed out that property prices and equity valuation remain at or near all-time highs, “and once business and agricultural property reliefs are watered down from next April, and then unspent pension funds become subject to IHT calculations from April 2027, there’s likely to be big jumps in IHT liabilities across the UK, and not just in the South East where they are traditionally concentrated.”

Source: HMRC

Jonathan Halberda, specialist adviser at Wesleyan Financial Services, said: “IHT receipts have hit record highs over the last year, but today’s increase reflects just a fraction of the of the pressures families have been facing under the IHT system.

“The impact of the frozen thresholds is impossible to ignore. It isn’t just a financial burden, but an emotional one, with growing fears that pensions and assets could be swallowed up by the tax.

“With pensions set to be brought into scope from 2027, people urgently need clarity - not a system that’s becoming ever more complex. Without it, families could make panicked decisions including premature pension withdrawals and rushed property transfers, without understanding the long-term consequences.”