This continues a two-decade upward trend that experts are labelling a “stealth tax” on UK taxpayers.

The surge is being driven by frozen tax-free allowances. The main IHT threshold has been fixed at £325,000 until 2030, and the residence nil-rate band has remained at £175,000 since 2020. As rising house prices and inflation push the value of more estates over these static thresholds, an increasing number of families are being drawn into the IHT net.

Nicholas Hyett, investment manager at Wealth Club, described the freezes as a way for the government to “increase their take without a backlash from a headline grabbing tax hike”. The situation is set to intensify, with pension assets due to be included in estates from April 2027, a move expected to raise £1.5 billion by 2030.

This trend is not confined to IHT. Capital Gains Tax (CGT) receipts also rose by 8% to £922m, largely due to the annual exempt amount being slashed from £12,300 to £3,000.

With the government seeking to plug an estimated £22bn fiscal gap without raising income tax, National Insurance, or VAT, analysts warn that both IHT and CGT could face further changes in the upcoming Autumn Budget.