Inheritance Tax From Residential Property: The Data

Inheritance tax reaches only a small minority of estates, yet it raised £8.7 billion in receipts in 2025-26, and residential property sits at the centre of the picture (OBR, Inheritance tax, 2025-26, subject to change).

This page gathers the official statistics on inheritance tax and residential property from named sources: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Every figure carries its source and reference period so you can check it. The numbers describe England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland together unless stated, and the underlying rules described here are those of England and Wales. Figures are current as at July 2026 and are subject to change. For the background rules, see our Inheritance Tax Explained guide.

How much inheritance tax comes from residential property?

Residential property is not published as a single national total, but HMRC data shows it is the dominant asset in most taxpaying estates. Where a net estate is worth less than £1 million, HMRC reports that it is likely to consist mainly of residential property and cash (HMRC, Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics: commentary, tax year 2022 to 2023).

The OBR makes the link explicit: inheritance tax receipts have risen as a share of national income since 2009-10, mainly because of rising asset prices, and residential property comprises the largest share of most estates (OBR, Inheritance tax, 2025-26). Because the tax-free thresholds are frozen while many house values continue to move, the share of estates drawn into the tax can change over time.

How many estates actually pay?

Fewer than 1 in 20 estates pay inheritance tax. In the 2022 to 2023 tax year, 4.62% of UK deaths, that is 31,500 of 683,000 deaths, resulted in an inheritance tax charge, a proportion that has stayed under 1 in 20 since 2007 to 2008 (HMRC, Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics: commentary, 2022-23). Most of the liability is concentrated in older age groups, where residential property tends to be a large part of the estate.

Source: HMRC, Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics: commentary, tax year 2022 to 2023. Together these two groups account for 82% of the £6.70bn total liability. Figures subject to change.

The single largest reduction in the figures is the exemption for transfers between spouses and civil partners. HMRC recorded £5.98 billion passing to surviving spouses and civil partners on death in 2022 to 2023 (HMRC, 2022-23). That exemption is why a family home passing to a surviving partner is generally not taxed on the first death, with the charge, if any, arising later. For how the residence relief works on a home, see our guide to inheritance tax on property.

What the numbers mean

Read together, the data suggests inheritance tax remains a minority event that is heavily shaped by property values. Fewer than 1 in 20 estates pay, yet the total collected keeps rising, and residential property is the largest asset behind most bills (OBR, 2025-26). In our reading, that combination is what makes property central to the debate.

A few observations, offered as general commentary rather than advice:

• Property drives the threshold question. Because homes are the main asset in most sub-£1 million estates (HMRC, 2022-23), a rise in house prices can move an estate above the frozen bands even where nothing else changes.
• Concentration in later life. With 82% of the 2022-23 liability arising in estates of those aged 75 and over (HMRC, 2022-23), the figures are closely tied to later-life wealth held largely in housing.
• The spouse exemption is large. The £5.98 billion passing between spouses and civil partners (HMRC, 2022-23) shows how much value defers to a second death rather than being taxed on the first.

None of this points to a single answer for any one family, and past trends do not tell you what any estate will owe. Where a home is the main asset, many people choose to discuss the position with a qualified professional, such as a solicitor, a STEP practitioner or an FCA-authorised financial adviser, who can look at the whole picture. Our estate planning guide sets out how the pieces fit together.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Inheritance tax is a UK-wide tax, so the HMRC and OBR totals cover England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland together. The tax-free thresholds and rates are the same across the UK (gov.uk, as at July 2026, subject to change). What differs is the surrounding succession law: Scotland has its own rules, including legal rights that can give a spouse and children a fixed share of an estate, and Northern Ireland has a separate but broadly similar system to England and Wales. Where an estate crosses jurisdictions, it can be worth taking local advice.

Sources and methodology

Every figure on this page comes from a named official statistics source and was checked against the live publication. HMRC figures are liabilities and asset data for the 2022 to 2023 tax year; the OBR figures are receipts and share-of-income measures for 2025-26. Liabilities (an accruals measure) and receipts (a cash measure) are compiled differently and are not directly comparable. No figure here has been estimated, extrapolated or rounded beyond what the source states.

• HMRC, Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics: commentary (tax year 2022 to 2023): taxpaying estates, share of deaths, liabilities, age breakdown, spouse transfers, and asset composition.
• OBR, Inheritance tax (2025-26): receipts, share of national income, and the role of residential property and asset prices.
• gov.uk, How Inheritance Tax works (as at July 2026): thresholds, rates and exemptions.
• gov.uk, nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band: the freeze to the end of 2030-31.

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