More detached property owners are potentially liable to pay inheritance tax (IHT) than five years ago with one in three (29%) detached property sales in the UK above the 2006/07 IHT threshold of £285,000.

Five years ago only 13% of detached properties were sold above the then IHT threshold of £234,000.

Halifax calculates that in London 82% of detached property sales occurred above the IHT threshold over the past year, followed by the South East (59%) and the East of England (37%).

The average price of a detached property is above the inheritance tax threshold of £285,000 in London (£563,085), the South East (£390,353) and the East of England (£298,430). The average price of a semi-detached property is above the inheritance tax threshold of £285,000 in London (£334,510).