Inheritance tax: what you need to know

Changes to inheritance tax often hit the headlines, and in recent months these have included new rules over how unspent money in a deceased person's pension pot will be taxed.

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Inheritance tax is collected on the estate of someone who has died.

A person's estate is the total of their assets, such as property, savings and investment; it also includes any debts still owing, such as mortgages or bills. Their will should show how they'd like their estate to be distributed.

However, very few of us will need to pay any inheritance tax at all. In the 2022/23 tax year, less than 5% of deaths in the UK resulted in inheritance tax payments.