HMRC has recovered £1.36bn in unpaid inheritance tax over the past five years, although collections in the last financial year were down 13% on the previous year, according to tax figures obtained through an FOI by NFU Mutual.

The amount of inheritance tax recovered following investigations was £247m in 2024-25, down from £285m in the previous year. This comes at a time when the total amount of IHT collected reached a new annual high of £8.5bn in 2025-26.

The highest amount was recovered in 2021-22, when HMRC collected £326m from closed investigations. Collections subsequently fluctuated before falling to £247m in 2024-25.

Whilst there is no confirmed explanation for the drop from £285m in 2023-24 to £247m in 2024-25, the most likely interpretation is that investigation recoveries are inherently volatile and depend on when individual cases conclude, rather than reflecting a deliberate reduction in enforcement activity.