Currently, taxpayers are entitled to gift assets and if they live more than seven years then the asset will be passed on free of inheritance tax (IHT). There is now speculation Rachel Reeves may be looking to alter this in another blow to the UK taxpayer.

Many are reacting to the latest speculation as IHT is, and always will be, a controversial form of taxation, especially as each year is surpassing the previous year’s tax take.

In just the last five years the annual IHT take has risen from £4.65bn to £8.25bn as the threshold remains frozen and the values of assets such as properties increase in value year on year.

On 31 July 2025 HMRC released the IHT figures for the 202-/23 tax year showing just 4.62% of deaths in the UK resulted in some form of IHT being paid, increasing by just 0.23% on the year before.