Almost a third of detached property sales are now potentially liable to pay the inheritance (IHT) tax, according to new research.

According to the Halifax, 29 per cent of detached property sales in the UK are above the 2006/07 IHT threshold of £285,000.

This compares to five years ago when only 13 per cent of detached sales would have attracted IHT above the then threshold of £234,000.

Halifax calculates that in London 82 per cent of detached property sales occurred above the IHT threshold over the past year, followed by the south-east (59 per cent) and the east of England (37 per cent).

The revenue raised by the government through IHT has risen by £1.3 billion since 1996/97 from £1.6 billion to £2.9 billion in 2004/05. A further rise is estimated in 2005/2006 to £3.3 billion.

House prices have risen by 176 per cent over the past ten years. The average price now equates to 62 per cent of the IHT threshold compared with 40 per cent ten years ago.

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