Gifts of any amount can be gifted at any time, but if the giftee passes away within seven years of the person receiving it the gift becomes taxable, and it could be added to the value of the estate for IHT.

In 2011/12 the total amount of estates ending up having to pay IHT for this reason was 590, rising mostly every year until 2020/21 when there were 1300 estates affected. Not only this but the amount of IHT collected has more than doubled in this time, from £101m to £256m.

The average each estate paid in 2020/21 is £25,000 more than ten years prior, paying £196,923 each.

Ian Dyall, head of estate planning at Evelyn Partners said: ‘This data suggests that some pretty significant shock tax bills are being delivered to people. Those who receive generous gifts from older relatives need to be aware that they could be liable for a big tax charge if that relative dies within seven years of making the gift.