Inheritance tax (IHT) receipts reached £8.5 billion for April 2025 to March 2026, according to data released by HMRC.
This was a £0.2bn rise compared to the same period in the previous year.
Nicholas Nesbitt, partner, Forvis Mazars, said: "No longer a tax reserved for the ultra-wealthy, the number of ordinary families affected by IHT will only grow in the coming months.
"With no adjustments for inflation or asset value growth, frozen thresholds are a tax rise by stealth."
Frozen thresholds
The prolonged freeze on IHT thresholds continues to be responsible for the rising figures, according to industry experts.
Samantha Warner, legal director, Winckworth Sherwood, said: "The nil-rate band (NRB) and the residence nil-rate band (RNRB) have not been adjusted for inflation or rising property values, which means more estates are becoming liable for the tax as asset values increase.
"It remains a persistent and unavoidable IHT planning issue, and one that should not be ignored."
This is something Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, AJ Bell agreed with.
"IHT has been climbing relentlessly since 2022, which owes a great deal to the decision to freeze the nil rate bands," Coles said.
"Rising house prices and investment values have automatically pushed more estates into paying this tax every year, and driven up bills for anyone caught by the net."
New IHT rules
In addition to frozen thresholds, the UK government introduced new IHT rules in the 2024 Autumn Budget.
From April 2027, unused pension funds will be included in an individual's estate for IHT purposes.
Claire Exley, head of financial advice, J.P. Morgan Personal Investing, said: "This change is important as IHT is charged at the standard rate of 40% on an estate worth above £325,000 for most when passed on, rising to £500,000 if a home is passed down to children or grandchildren.
"This tax on inherited pension funds will close a previously popular exemption and estate planning tool where people could pass down their personal pensions to a beneficiary without incurring IHT after death."
Additionally, as of April this year, the Government introduced changes to Business and Agricultural Property Reliefs (BPR & APR).
The 100% relief threshold for APR and BPR will be set at £2.5m, with 50% relief applicable above that level.
Nesbitt said: "April's reforms to Business and Agricultural Property Reliefs are already kicking in, and the 2027 inclusion of pensions as part of taxable estates will be a landmark moment. All of these bring a raft of complexities and challenges from a financial planning perspective."
‘The rate of increase is slowing'
Despite IHT receipts continuing to increase, some industry professionals have noted the rate the figures are increasing is slowing.
Ian Dyall, head of estate planning, Evelyn Partners, said: "No surprises on the rise but as we have seen in recent months, it does look like the rate of increase is slowing, and certainly this is less than previous annual rises in the IHT take.
"For years, IHT revenues have been boosted quite significantly as frozen nil‑rate bands steadily draw more estates and assets into the tax net as values increased."
He explained that the "backdrop now, however, is slightly altered", with London house prices having "cooled" over recent years.
"Official data yesterday revealed the largest property value decline in inner London since the global financial crisis, with house prices in some of the most expensive London boroughs falling for the fifth month and at double-digit rates in February," Dyall added.
"Across the South East property prices have pulled back in real terms in the last few years.
"That softening is probably slowing the extent to which purely inflation-driven growth has pushed estates over IHT thresholds, particularly for those whose wealth is concentrated in property rather than diversified investments."
However, Dyall stressed that receipts are still rising, "because with decades of wealth accumulation and many years of frozen allowances, even modest asset growth can inflate IHT bills, regardless of medium term property market movements".
An ageing population also means "more estates, and more estates belonging to the asset-rich boomer generation, are being assessed as time goes by".
