Investment - Articles - Record September for IHT receipts and CGT remains elevated

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2026 forecast expects IHT receipts of £9.5 billion for 2026/27 up from £8.5 billion collected in 2025/26. It means the pace of IHT collection will need to accelerate through the second half of the financial year for that forecast to be met. OBR also forecast expects CGT receipts to rise to £34.9 billion by 2030/31, up from £29.8 billion in its November 2025 forecast, largely driven by rising forecast equity prices. The figures come after a record year for CGT receipts, which reached £22.2 billion in 2025/26, significantly surpassing the previous record of £16.9 billion in 2022/23 and the £13.7 billion recorded in 2024/25.

 

Simon Martin, Head of UK Technical Services at Utmost, a leading provider of insurance-based wealth solutions, commented: "Inheritance Tax receipts continue to rise, with frozen thresholds and rising asset values continuing to draw more families within scope of the tax. This year could still be another record, but growth so far is running behind the pace the OBR expected. The reach of Inheritance Tax continues to expand, with thresholds now frozen until 2031, Business Property Relief reforms having taken effect earlier this year, and unused pension pots due to fall within the scope of IHT from April 2027. With the Budget next week, families and wealth creators will be watching closely for further changes to the tax system. The changing and increasingly complex tax landscape reinforces the value of good financial advice and legacy planning in helping families understand their situation and navigate the system with confidence."

 

"CGT receipts remain elevated following a record year for the Treasury, with higher rates introduced at the Autumn Budget 2024 and ongoing fiscal drag bringing more taxpayers into the CGT net. With reports suggesting the Chancellor is highly unlikely to increase the rates of CGT at next week's Budget, investors and business owners will still be waiting until the Budget itself to make sure there are no other surprises lurking in that red dispatch box of his. The OBR expects CGT to make an increasingly significant contribution to Treasury revenues in the coming years, but that depends on investors continuing to realise gains in the UK. Keeping the tax burden from rising again on investment gains, property and business assets matters when internationally mobile investors, entrepreneurs and business owners can look to more favourable regimes elsewhere."