Beware IHT bracket creep warns HBOS

The company says the reason is simple enough: 12% house price inflation against the 3.1% increase in the threshold. Yorkshire and Humberside have seen the biggest rises in the number of houses going above the £263,000 limit, as a proportion of houses valued, HBOS says. The 99,000 homes above the threshold in the fourth quarter of 2003 have now become 147,000 units, and increase of 49%. The Northwest has seen 94,000 units become 137,000 units affected by IHT rules, a 46% increase reflective of the way house prices have been gaining faster in the North of the country than traditional...