Inheritance tax (IHT) figures released by HMRC show that the UK’s tax agency reaped in 2017/18 a record amount from the highest number of estates since data was first gathered.

IHT receipts totalled £5.2 billion in 2017/18, an increase of eight percent (£388 million) compared to 2016-17 and has been increasing since 2010-11. There was also a 22 percent increase in receipts from 2014-15 to 2015-16, which reflects an estimated 43,900 excess winter deaths in 2014-15.

At the same time, this year saw the highest number of estates claiming the four percent discount for charitable giving (2,020) saving a total of...