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An extra 50,000 London pensioners face “punishing” inheritance tax raids on the value of their homes under Jeremy Corbyn’s manifesto plans, new analysis reveals today.

Labour has pledged to scrap Tory reforms that would have lifted many pensioner couples out of inheritance tax by allowing them to pass on up to £1 million, including the family homes, by 2021. This would leave the tax free allowance for couples at £650,000.

Exclusive research from Savills estate agency has shown that the proposed move will drag more than 48,000 London homes owned by the over-65s back into the inheritance tax trap.

Labour’s threat was described by one tax adviser as a “kick in the teeth” for ordinary Londoners who have paid for their homes and hope to pass them on tax free.

Decades of price rises means that many are modest suburban homes that were never intended to be liable for a tax that was originally targeted at landed estates. Many are also in marginal seats where the “grey vote” could make the difference between Labour or Conservative votes.

The leafy north London borough of Barnet has 4,297 homes worth between £650,000 and £1 million owned by over 65s, more than any other part of the capital.

These homes would all have been exempt from inheritance tax under the Tory plans but now face 40 per cent bills on their value above the £650,000 threshold.

Other boroughs with large numbers of homes that would be heavily hit include Richmond-upon-Thames, Bromley, Wandsworth and Ealing, where Rupa Huq holds the Ealing Central and Acton seat for Labour with a majority of just 274.

Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “A cut in the inheritance tax threshold would be most keenly felt in the affluent suburbs of London, where older homeowners are very protective of the substantial wealth which is tied up in housing.

“It also has the potential to eat into the inheritance of younger generations, who have become increasingly reliant on that money to get on or trade up the housing ladder. In turn, this may cause more older households to consider selling their existing home to downsize in their retirement.”

Gavin Barwell, Minister for London, said: “Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell have made clear in their manifesto that they are planning a Family Homes Tax which will hit ordinary Londoners hard.

“People who have worked hard and saved all their lives will be punished if Jeremy Corbyn gets the keys to Downing Street after the election.”

Alex Davies, chief executive and founder of financial advisers Wealth Club, said: “This is bad news. IHT is a huge worry for homeowners already – in our recent survey of high net worth investors nearly a third placed policy changes and the impending General Election as one of their top concerns, with 45 per cent fearing an rise in inheritance tax.

“The existing legislation is complex and far from perfect but removing it is a kick in the teeth for people who have saved prudently over their lifetimes. And even without scrapping it, the overall IHT tax take is expected to rise.”

In total across London there are 343,284 homes valued between £650,000 and £1 million, of which 176,275 were bought by owner occupiers, of which 48,158 are aged over 65. In 2013/14, the last year for which data is available, 19,300 UK estates were liable for inheritance tax, of which 3,800 were in London and a further 4,500 in the south east.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Reversing the Conservatives’ 2015 inheritance tax give-away, which only benefits 4 per cent of estates, will help fund our plans to transform Britain for the many not the few, including an additional £8 billion for social care, which is in crisis after £4.6 billion of cuts by the Conservatives.”