In 2019-20, properties which were liable to pay the tax had an average value of over £820,000, according to a Freedom of Information request to HMRC by retirement specialist Just Group.
The average estate value in London was more than £1.4m, nearly £200,000 higher than the second highest region the South East.
The proportion of housing wealth in IHT-paying estates dropped to 39 per cent in the South East at £604,000, 36 per cent in the East of England at £524,000 and 32 per cent in the South West at £474,000.
The date suggests that high house prices in London and the South East have been largely responsible for pushing more estates into paying IHT in these regions.
Stephen Lowe, group communications director at Just Group, said: “In London, where average property prices are far higher than the rest of the country, housing wealth makes up a bigger proportion of the wealth of estates that pay inheritance tax.
“This data was taken from the period up to the outbreak of Covid-19 and house prices rose significantly during the pandemic, with homeowners over the age of 55 benefitting from £1bn of property value growth every single day between March 2020 and June 2022.
“This is likely to have tipped many more estates over the IHT threshold, perhaps without the homeowners even realising.”
He added: “It is another reminder of why it is so important that people regularly assess the value of their estate, including an up-to-date valuation of their property.
“Professional, regulated advice can help people work out the full value of their estate and any tax they may be likely to pay on that wealth, along with suggestions on how to manage that tax bill and the most efficient way to pass on an inheritance to their loved ones.”
