The amount of inheritance tax paid by bereaved families in a year has broken the £5billion barrier for the first time.

Figures published by HM Revenue & Customs yesterday showed a record £5.1billion of IHT was collected over the last year.

This represents a jump of 9 per cent on the previous year, when £4.7billion was collected.

Experts say soaring property values over the last few years and the long freeze in the IHT threshold means a growing number of estates are being hit by the deeply unpopular tax.

Figures published by HM Revenue & Customs yesterday showed a record £5.1billion of IHT was collected over the last year (file image)

Until recently IHT has been charged at 40 per cent on estates worth more than £325,000 or £650,000 for couples.

This threshold was frozen from 2009 until April this year, when it was hiked to £850,000 for couples wanting to pass their main family home onto their children or grandchildren.

The allowance for a single person wanting to pass on property was also increased to £425,000, following a move by former chancellor George Osborne in the 2015 budget.

The Conservatives have promised to raise the threshold to £500,000 for single people and £1million for couples by 2020/21.

But figures from HMRC - covering the year to May - show this is too late for tens of thousands of families who have been dragged into the grip of IHT in recent years.

The allowance for a single person wanting to pass on property was also increased to £425,000, following a move by former chancellor George Osborne in the 2015 budget

The number of estates which incurred IHT is expected to have almost doubled from around 15,000 in 2009/10 around 30,000 in 2016/17.

Experts warn more families will be dragged into paying IHT, particularly in London and the South East where house prices are so high.

The average house price in London has almost doubled from £245,351 in April 2009 to £482,779, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

In some parts of London average house prices have soared to more than £1million.

Tim Fullerlove, partner at law firm Wilsons, said: ‘A substantial amount of wealth is now being taken by the government through IHT. What upsets people is that this is wealth that is being taxed twice.

‘It is important that people start planning as early as possible how they mean to pass their wealth on to their children or grandchildren. If they do not do this, families could be met with large IHT bills.’

But the Tories have pointed out that households would be far worse off under a Labour government.

Before the general election they warned that Jeremy Corbyn’s manifesto promise to rip up Tory plans and reduce the threshold from £850,000 to £650,000 would make 1.2million homes liable for IHT by 2020/21.

The number would be double the 750,000 which would be liable under the Tory plan.

The Tories claimed Labour’s tax raid would be more damaging to pensioners than Conservatives plans to charge some people more for social care.

Accountants say more families are using legal tactics to avoid incurring IHT on their estate.

Many parents are passing on some of their wealth as gifts to their children or grandchildren.

Before the general election they warned that Jeremy Corbyn’s manifesto promise to rip up Tory plans and reduce the threshold from £850,000 to £650,000 would make 1.2million homes liable for IHT by 2020/21

This is free of IHT as long as the parent lives for another seven years or more.

Experts say this is proving increasingly popular as younger people are desperate for cash from the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ to get on the housing ladder.

A Treasury spokesman said: ‘The government wants families to be able to pass on their home to their children or grandchildren.

‘That’s why we’re reforming the rules to bring down the number of families paying inheritance tax, with nearly 20,000 estates taken out of paying inheritance tax from April 2020 alone.’