Impact of inheritance tax to hit more people

As house prices have gone up over recent months, more people are finding their properties alone are valued at more than the inheritance tax threshold of £263,000, particularly as the number of people effected rose by 500,000 in the first half of 2004, according to NOP World research carried out by Halifax Financial Services and 2.4m homeowners are now liable for IHT. IHT on the average property in Esher, Surrey, worth £416,000, for exmaple, would be £61,200 whereas in Kensington and Chelsea the average £670,000 property would net an IHT bill of £162,800, according to research from the Lo...