\n It features on The Private Office’s 2026 inheritance tax map, with an average liability of \u00a320,814 per estate, driven largely by rising property values pushing more estates above the tax threshold.\n<\/p>\n
\n The data highlights a North-South divide, with inheritance tax exposure heavily concentrated in London and the South East, and only Trafford appearing from northern England.\n<\/p>\n
\n Pippa Vick, financial adviser at The Private Office, said: “Inheritance tax is increasingly becoming a property tax by default.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Many families don\u2019t consider themselves wealthy, yet long-term house price growth means their estates can face substantial tax bills.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Without proper planning, beneficiaries may be forced to sell assets simply to settle the liability.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The analysis found that 136 local authorities are already exposed to inheritance tax in 2026, with average liabilities ranging from just over \u00a3150 to more than \u00a3340,000 per estate.\n<\/p>\n
\n Kensington and Chelsea topped the list with an average bill of \u00a3343,924 per estate, alongside Camden, Richmond upon Thames, and Hammersmith and Fulham – all recording liabilities well into six figures.\n<\/p>\n
\n Other high-liability areas include commuter belt locations such as Elmbridge, St Albans, and Windsor and Maidenhead.\n<\/p>\n
\n The report warns that pending pension rule changes will push even more estates above the threshold.\n<\/p>\n
\n From April 6, 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included in an individual\u2019s estate for inheritance tax purposes\u2014a shift from the current exemption.\n<\/p>\n
\n Based on this change, The Private Office estimates that 152 additional local authorities could become liable, raising the total to 288 nationwide.\n<\/p>\n
\n The inheritance tax nil-rate band is frozen at \u00a3325,000 until the 2030\/31 tax year, but the residence nil-rate band allows the threshold to rise to \u00a3500,000 if a home is passed to direct descendants.\n<\/p>\n
\n Despite the thresholds, rising house prices mean more estates are exceeding these limits.\n<\/p>\n
\n UK inheritance tax receipts have already hit \u00a38.25 billion for 2024\/25 and are expected to surpass \u00a39 billion by 2026\/27.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ms Vick said the pension change could bring new regions into scope for inheritance tax liabilities.\n<\/p>\n
\n READ MORE:\n<\/p>\n
\n She said: “Pensions have long sat outside inheritance tax calculations, so bringing them into scope has a major regional impact.\n<\/p>\n
\n “In high-property-value areas, the effect is dramatic, but even in more affordable regions, families who previously expected no inheritance tax may now face a bill.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Planning early will be crucial.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It features on The Private Office’s 2026 inheritance tax map, with an average liability of \u00a320,814 per estate,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[138,246,111,139,69,244,245],"class_list":["post-455098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}