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24/02/07 -
More Households Affected by Inheritance Tax |
Average house prices in 236 postcode districts are now
above the threshold for inheritance tax (IHT), a report has claimed.
Halifax said 2.3 million households now live in property that has an estimated worth above the level at which IHT
will kick in this year.
The number of areas in which the typical house price is above the £300,000 threshold has more than doubled in the
last five years, the lender said.
In 2001, 117 postcode areas had average house values that made homeowners liable for death duty, the Halifax
research found.
But due to hikes in the cost of property, the number has jumped to 236 - representing 11% of all districts, with the
largest IHT impact in London and the South East.
More than a third of all postcodes in the capital and 25% in the South East have average property prices above the
2007/08 limit.
Of the 10 most expensive postal areas, all but one - Virginia Water in Surrey - is located in London.
The Knightsbridge postcode of SW1X tops the index, with an average house price of £1,259,050.
The report notes that since the financial year 1995/96, house prices across the UK have increased by almost 200%.
This is more than double the increase in the IHT threshold, which has jumped by 95% from £154,000 to £300,000 in
April 2007.
Halifax said that if the threshold had increased in line with house price inflation, it would now be at a level of
£460,000 - more than 50% above the 2007/08 rate. |
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