Banbury expert warns of growing inheritance tax risk

Owen Kyffin is urging people not to delay addressing the inheritance tax issue.

That’s the warning from a Banbury expert who is urging people in much humbler abodes to take advice to avoid falling into the inheritance tax (IHT) trap.

New HMRC figures show families have paid £1.1bn in tax in the last two months - soaring house prices and inflation making more and more estates liable for IHT.

Owen Kyffin, director of Whitley Stimpson chartered accountants and business advisers in Banbury, said: “Ordinary people just don’t think about this tax will affect them, so it comes as a shock to them when a family member dies, and they receive a huge bill.

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“The Government is raking in a huge amount of revenue to refill its coffers after the impact of covid and I am sure there won’t be any adjustments to the threshold soon.”

The nil rate threshold has been frozen at £325,000 since 2009, with no sign of it changing until at least 2026. In 2017 the Government introduced the ‘residence nil rate band’, which now amounts to £175,000, and in most circumstances takes an individual’s IHT tax threshold up to £500,000.

But the message is that careful financial planning in advance is the key to making sure the tax does not have a severe impact on the family inheritance.

Mr Kyffin added: “When someone dies, the last thing you need to be worrying about is how to reduce IHT.

“We can remove that stress in advance and work to plot the best savings and investment strategy for a family.”