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Almost 5,000 formal Inheritance Tax investigations were opened in 2025/26. That does not mean families should avoid sensible estate planning. It does mean that valuations, gifts, relief claims and records need to stand up to scrutiny. Inheritance Tax has moved further up HMRC’s compliance agenda. New figures reported from HMRC data show that 4,940 formal IHT investigations were opened in the 2025/26 tax year, an 18% increase on the previous year and the highest level in six y

Business Relief can be a powerful part of estate planning, but it is not a blanket exemption and it is not guaranteed. Understanding what qualifies, the two-year ownership rule and the April 2026 changes is essential before considering it. Business Relief reduces the value of qualifying business property when Inheritance Tax is calculated. It was previously known as Business Property Relief, which is why the abbreviation BPR is still widely used. The relief was introduced in

Inheritance Tax is often described as a tax paid only by the very wealthy. In practice, frozen allowances, rising asset values and forthcoming pension changes mean that more families need to understand how it works, even if they never ultimately pay it. Inheritance Tax, usually shortened to IHT, is charged on the value of a person’s estate when they die, after deducting available allowances, exemptions, reliefs and liabilities. The standard rate is 40%, but it applies only to