What % of all deaths (uk) resulted in an inheritance tax bill in 2021-22? you're not previewing try and have a guess?

[HecatesBees]

What % of all deaths (uk) resulted in an inheritance tax bill in 2021-22? you're not previewing try and have a guess?

Some 4.39pc of all deaths resulted in an inheritance tax bill in 2021-22 – a total of 27,800, according to official figures.

If your guess was higher, pick YANBU
if your guess was lower pick YABU

(I would have guessed higher, maybe even up to 50%

I knew it was 4%. Really can’t understand why people get so worked up about IHT. The 4% can afford to pay it. Wound up by the Daily Mail?

I knew that figure.

I don't disagree with taxing inherited, unearned wealth - but I do think it's disproportionate/unfair for homeowners in the SE. You can 'hide' money apart from the value of your home - and if you live in the SE, a reasonably standard home will cost more than the threshold for IHT. I think this should be taken into account.

I think 4%.

That's why I posted it. I personally think it's a good idea to tax inheritance, the person leaving the estate has done their bit, and the person inheriting hasn't "earned" it.

I would remove trusts as well, duke of Westminster with his 9.4 billion inheritance can get to fuck!

I would have guessed about 10% so not wildly wrong but definitely lower than I imagined

I guessed 3%. Agree that thresholds should increase as house prices increase. It’s only fair, otherwise fiscal drag impacts people the policy wasn’t trying to address.

I guessed about 5%, so almost there.

I'm not sure going forward, on one hand people are now living in properties that they paid pennies for and are now worth considerably more, but on the other more is likely to be needed to pay towards care costs.

I knew it was 4%. Not all taxed estates involve huge sums. If you are single with no children then the nil rate banding is £325k which hasn’t been increased since 2006.

Agree. The people in the SE inheriting property over the threshold will also be faced with property prices way out of proportion to wages if they want to buy their own home, so it’s disproportionate that they be taxed at the same level as people in areas of the country where property can be bought at a fraction of the price.

I don't think there's many houses in my town that would be under the IHT limit tbh- except my flat lol

🙄 Tell us you nothing about about property prices in the SE without telling us you know nothing about property prices in the SE.

It's a policy that's dragging more and more fairly ordinary people into it though because of the very high cost of houses in London in particular. It particularly prevents single people from passing on homes to their children as houses valued above £500k will need to be sold to pay the inheritance tax. £500k doesn't get you a big fancy house in London.

Actually I do live in that area. My house has doubled in value since we bought. So what?

@HecatesBees this Duke of Westminster you mentioned, is he married? Does he want to be? Asking for a friend, obvs!🤣

they might of had £££ before they got old and needed to pay for their own care. Nursing homes are £85k a year where I live. Home care, which they would have had before a care home setting is also expensive at £25 an hour.

I knew it was 4%. I think you should have longer than 6 months to pay it though

The richest don't pay (or pay a much reduced amount) because they can afford legal avoidance schemes.

So it's generally a smallish percentage of people who pay it - mainly people of modest or low means but with the misfortune to be from areas, mostly but not only the SE, where house prices have been allowed to inflate excessively.

Misfortune it is, because their adult children including those who are vulnerable, can't afford to live near them (and being near support networks is priceless). Or even worse, can't afford a home at all (eg. London has the highest homeless levels in the UK).

And it affects cheaper areas too, in case people think "sod the unfortunate people from the SE". Because people priced out from more expensive areas add pressure on housing, jobs, and public services where they move to...

Re IHT. I don't know if it's possible to change things so that the richest pay full amount? Schemes used to avoid or massively reduce liability are often complicated and international, but it obviously would be good if it was possible.

I thought I’d read 6% somewhere, but maybe I made that up.

I don’t disagree with the concept of inheritance tax. Inherited wealth is one of the big drivers of inequality.

But yes, the issue is that, as always, the richest escape it. The Duke of Westminster and his £0 inheritance tax bill on £9bn is a prime example!

I guessed 3% so it's higher than I thought.

I think this is a problem that attaches to many tax proposals. Millions of people think they'll be negatively impacted when they won't, and that's why so many fiscal policies are unpopular.

I personally benefited from a family member's large inheritance which was entirely untaxed. I am very grateful and I know the deceased paid plenty of tax while they lived, but I'm really not sure it should have been tax free for the beneficiary even though I would probably not have gained if it wasn't.

Last time I flicked through a Daily Mail (left behind on a train, not paid for by me!) it ran a story implying that pensioners on £40k a year are ten a penny and are hard done by. Yeah, right.

i guessed 5% - reasonable margin of error

I'm sure some people will say loads of Londoners should all just move somewhere else - despite loudly complaining when people do just that... and as a consequence push up house prices elsewhere due to increased demand.

Obviously there's a urgent need for more social housing. Not only London and the rest of the SE, but across the UK. But that's another issue

Re IHT. The fairest way would be if it was taxed on the wealth/income of the beneficiaries. I don't know why doing it that way never really seems to be considered by governments?

This this and this again. As I said on another thread, the only two people I have known to have iht applied to their estates are a single paramedic and a single postman. Small terraced houses in Essex. No savings to speak of at all.

It's not just about people with big houses in the SE. The budget has changed the rules in relation to agriculture. See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1ml5zm9lz5o

Despite all the stereotypes a lot of farming families don't have a pot to piss in so landing them with massive inheritance bills would prevent farms staying in the family and result in them being sold after death.

But let's face it not many Labour seats in rural areas are there?

But yes, the issue is that, as always, the richest escape it. The Duke of Westminster and his £0 inheritance tax bill on £9bn is a prime example!

Just for reference, landed estates in trust such as the Duke of Wellingtons pay 6% on the value of the estate every ten years instead of IHT. Technically, yes they don’t pay IHT but that is because they’ve already paid it via the trust and the government gets the income stream from it.

@Brainstorm23 I think working farms should be exempt from the changes. It's something that everyone should care about, farmers or not, because it's a food security issue.

(Separately, just want to point out it's not only big houses in the SE. It's often modest homes. London is particularly badly affected. A friend from there is renting so IHT isn't really relevant to him, but where he lives - in one of the less expensive parts, just a 1 bedroom flat sells for around £350K).

Farms aside, I really think IHT based on the wealth of income of the beneficiaries would be a better way to do it. But I don't know if that would be popular?