The government collected £2.6bn in inheritance tax (IHT) between April and July 2023, which was £0.2bn higher than in the same period a year earlier, latest official statistics show.
Figures from HMRC show that receipts in June 2023 were the highest monthly total on record, although recent rises in interest rates would have impacted on this figure, the tax authority said.
HMRC said charges on overdue tax bills following the recent increases in the Bank of England base rate.
Canada Life tax and estate planning specialist Julia Peake said: “With July receipts for inheritance tax up by almost 6% compared with the same time last year, and June the highest monthly total on record, HMRC is on course for a year of record receipts from IHT.
“The OBR has forecasted that IHT will raise £7.2 billion for the Exchequer this financial year. Housing market buoyancy, despite the recent downturn in the market, and tax thresholds being frozen until 2027-28 are driving the record tax take.
“Simple steps families can take include having up-to-date wills in place and using lifetime gifting and trusts. Seeking advice from a regulated financial adviser should be the first important step.”
In July, HMRC revealed that the number of estates pushed into paying inheritance tax surged to 27,000 in the 2020 to 2021 tax year, representing an annual rise of 17%, or 4,000 households.
Fresh data shows a significant increase in IHT payers since the 2009 to 2010 tax year, when just 15,000 families were lumbered with a bill.
The total sum of IHT gobbled up by the government during the 2020 to 2021 tax year reached £5.76billion, while average IHT bills slipped 1%, or £2,000, to £214,000, HMRC’s figures showed.
It said that higher death levels seen across Britain during the Covid-19 pandemic lifted the number of estates forced to pay IHT in the 2020 to 2021 tax year.
It added: “The rise in tax liabilities created is likely due to the rise in the number of overall deaths in the UK in that year, which resulted in a knock-on rise in taxable wealth transfers.
“The number of deaths in the UK rose from 612,000 to 722,000 (18%). This rise in overall UK deaths will have been due, at least in part, to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
