In the 2020/21 tax year the number of estates paying inheritance tax rose 17% year-on-year with pandemic deaths a factor in the growth, according to data released today by HMRC.

Inheritance tax receipts hit £1.2bn in April and May, a £100m rise year-on-year, according to figures released by HMRC this morning.

A group of 55 senior Tory MPs including former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi have called for inheritance tax to be abolished.

The number of taxpayers’ estates with Inheritance Tax on death rose to an estimated 41,000 in 2022/23 - up 24% increase on the previous year (33,000).