HMRC targets property valuations in inheritance tax inquiry | Money | The Observer

HMRC targets property valuations in inheritance tax inquiry | Money | The Observer

HM Revenue & Customs has targeted increasing numbers of bereaved middle England families by carrying out almost 9,500 investigations into inheritance tax valuations last year, according to a leading accountancy firm.

UHY Hacker Young said HMRC had conducted 9,368 investigations into estates and beneficiaries in the year to December 2010, and raised additional tax of £70m by challenging the valuations of properties included in the estates of deceased people.

Inheritance tax (IHT) is payable if the assets of an estate total more than the current tax-free threshold of .....