Halifax says 29% of detached property owners will pay IHT

16 March 2007

Halifax research has shown that nearly one third of detached property owners in the UK could be liable to pay Inheritance Tax.

The bank says 29% of detached house prices now occur above the 2007/08 IHT threshold of 300,000 but five years ago only 16% of detached properties were sold above the then IHT threshold of 242,000.

Tim Crawford, group economist at Halifax, says: "House prices have risen at a much faster rate than the inheritance tax threshold over the past decade.

“That has led to a sharp rise in the number of homes valued above the threshold.

"Now, the average detached house in the UK is valued above the inheritance threshold of £300,000.

“We call on the government to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £460,000.

"That new level would account for the rise in property prices in the past decade."