Inheritance tax (IHT) receipts continued to rise in the first six months of 2025/26, increasing by £125m (3 per cent) year-on-year to £4.39bn between April and September 2025, the latest figures from HMRC have shown.

The 2024/25 financial year was the third consecutive record-breaking year for IHT receipts at £8.2bn, with the latest data suggesting the government is in line for a fourth record-high year in a row.

IHT is forecast to generate £9.1bn for the Treasury in 2025/26, rising to more than £14bn in 2029/30.

“The Treasury is on course for another record-breaking year of revenues from IHT,” commented Evelyn Partners head of estate planning, Ian Dyall.

“With the nil-rate band frozen at £325,000 since 2009 and the residence nil-rate band static at £175,000, fiscal drag is quietly pulling thousands more families into the IHT net as asset values increase year-by-year.

“Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has signalled that higher taxes on the wealthy will be ‘part of the story’ in her Autumn Statement on 26 November, as she seeks to plug a £30bn fiscal gap.

“Possibilities include a crackdown on gifting, which could take the form of a lifetime gifting cap replacing the current unlimited gifting rule under the seven-year exemption, or extending the seven-year rule out to 10 or more years.”

HMRC’s update also revealed that the government collected £1.13bn in capital gains tax (CGT) in the first six months of 2025/26.

This represents an increase of £83m (8 per cent) compared to April-September 2024/25, with receipts estimated to hit £25.5bn a year by 2029/30, almost double current levels.

In September, CGT receipts rose slightly to £207m, potentially in response to Budget rumours that the tax could be in line for changes.

“The Treasury is benefitting from the increase in CGT rates and the tightening of the annual exemptions at the Autumn Budget, which are expected to increase receipts by nearly 50 per cent in this 2025/26 tax year and reach around £20bn,” said Utmost Wealth Solutions head of UK technical services, Simon Martin.

“There have been rumours that CGT could be revisited by the Chancellor in her Autumn 2025 Budget, for example by ratcheting up rates again or removing the exemption for primary residences on the sale of all homes of over a set threshold.

“Any further changes to CGT could materially impact behaviours around investment, the property market and the timing of asset disposals.”

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