29 Jul 2022Data published by the Treasury has revealed that there was a 14%, or £729 million, increase in inheritance tax (IHT) receipts received by HMRC between the financial years 2020/21 and 2021/22. The Treasury stated that the rise is 'likely due to a combination of the knock-on effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volume of wealth transfers and IHT-liable deaths in recent years'. Increases in asset values and the government's decision to maintain the IHT nil-rate band thresholds at their 2020/21 levels up to and including 2025/26 also contributed to the rise. According to the data, IHT receipts are now at their highest level on record. It also showed that the combined value of agricultural and business property relief (APR and BPR) set against assets totalled £2.8 billion in the tax year 2019/20. This represented a fall of £0.7 billion, or 20%, when compared to the tax year 2018/19. Meanwhile, the value of exempted transfers to qualifying charities also fell from £1.7 billion in the tax year 2018/19 to £1.6 billion in the tax year 2019/20.