Mapped: The one in five homes that inheritance tax could hit – check your area | Personal Finance | Finance

New figures reveals one in five homes in England and Wales are eligible to pay inheritance tax but they also show a sharp divide between the different regions in terms of house prices.

The standard nil-rate band when inheriting a property that was the main residence of the deceased is £500,000, and a fifth of all homes are worth more than this and so could be hit by the tax.

But there is a clear regional divide in the value of properties as while in London, 57 percent of homes would be liable for the levy, just three percent of homes in the North East would be eligible.

There were 197 postcode areas where no homes have sold for at least £500,000 in the latest figures.

This includes many of the postcodes Kingston Upon Hull, parts of Bolton (BL3 and BL4) and Stoke on Trent (ST1 and ST6).

Just six percent of homes across the North of England cost at least £500,000, compared to 32 percent in the South and eight percent in the Midlands.

There were several London postcodes where every home would be hit by the tax, including W1B, which includes Oxford Circus, where the average price paid was £4.5million.

The Mayfair postcode of W1K also has properties which would land a hefty inheritance tax bills, with an average property value of £8.1million.

Looking at Wales, many parts of Cardiff also had zero percent homes worth at least £500,000 although CF71 had 56 percent.

Britons who are at risk of paying the tax may want to note the thresholds are double when inheriting assets from a couple, so the allowance when inheriting a main property would increase to up to £1million.

House prices have consistently gone up in recent years but some experts are predicting they will now begin to fall.

Richard Donnell, director of Research at Zoopla, previously said house prices will fall 22 percent by 2025.

He warned there are many “lead weights” that will keep down house prices, such as potential changes to EPC regulations that may increase the costs of owning a home.

Inheritance tax is a 40 percent tax that applies to any total inherited assets above a person or couple’s nil rate band.

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