I suspect, like me, you have seen a steady stream of commentary around inheritance tax over the past few months, whether that has come through the trade press, the mainstream media, or simply in passing conversations with clients.
On the surface, the direction of travel looks fairly clear. HMRC data shows inheritance tax receipts reached £7.7bn between April 2025 and February 2026, and with thresholds remaining frozen until 2031, following last year’s Autumn Budget, more estates are being pulled into scope. In many cases, that change is only felt once the process is already underway.
However, and this is where the conversation may need to change, focusing on the size of the tax take can overlook what is actually driving most of the friction. Because, in my view, this is not really about how much is owed, it is about when it is owed, and whether the money is actually there to pay it at that point.
When it works on paper, but not in reality
On paper, many estates look perfectly fine, often more than comfortable, with enough value tied up in property or other assets to cover any inheritance tax liability. In theory, that should provide reassurance.
In reality, however, this is where things start to come unstuck. Inheritance tax is often payable before probate is granted, creating a situation where a liability has crystallised, but access to the funds needed to settle it is still out of reach. It is one of those details that is really easy to overlook until you are in the middle of it, and by then, it can come as quite a shock.
At the same time, and this is something we see repeatedly, the wider responsibilities of managing an estate do not pause. Legal fees build, properties need to be maintained and insured, and decisions still need to be made, all while the value of the estate remains locked away.
A process that rarely runs to time
We all know probate is not quick, but there is still a tendency to underestimate how long it can take. In a simple case, you might be looking at a few months, but anything more complex, particularly where property is involved, timelines can stretch far beyond that, often with little certainty.
And this is where, in my view, the real tension sits. Not in the tax itself, but in the gap between when obligations arise and when assets can actually be realised. It may not be obvious at the outset, but it becomes very real once the process is underway.
What this looks like on the ground
If we step away from the policy side of things for a moment, the scenarios are easy to recognise. It could be an executor needing to settle an inheritance tax bill while still waiting for probate to come through, or a property sitting unsold with costs ticking up in the background. Families are often left making decisions without a clear sense of timing.
None of this is unusual, and that is precisely the point. These are not edge-cases, they are a natural consequence of how the system works, and as more estates fall into scope, we are seeing them more often.
Where short-term funding comes into the conversation
There are, of course, ways to deal with this. In certain cases, short-term funding may be considered to help manage the timing gap between liability and access. This can, in some circumstances, help executors meet unavoidable costs without needing to accelerate decisions prematurely. It is not the answer in every situation, but where it is relevant, it can make a meaningful difference.
Any lending option should be considered carefully, taking into account the cost of borrowing, the circumstances of the estate, and the executor’s responsibilities.
You might say this is not really an issue for an introducer, and to an extent that is true, but in reality, the lines are becoming more blurred. Where property is involved, or where clients are trying to understand their options, these conversations often find their way back to the introducer earlier than expected.
At Ampla, we are focused on supporting executors and beneficiaries where timing and access do not quite align, with a focus on simplifying what can often be a complex process.
That does not mean stepping outside of their advice framework, but it does mean having a working awareness of how these situations develop. Because whether we like it or not, clients will ask questions, and increasingly those questions will touch on this timing gap.
The key point, and this is something we see time and time again, is that these options work best when they are considered early, rather than at the point where pressure is already building and choices feel limited.
A different way of looking at it
It is easy to think about inheritance tax purely in terms of liability. How much is owed, and why. But for most people, the more immediate concern is far simpler. When does the bill need to be paid, and how is it paid if the funds are not yet accessible?
Once you look at it that way, the conversation shifts. It becomes less about the value within the estate, and more about the timing of access.
Inheritance tax receipts are expected to reach around £8.7bn in the 2025 to 2026 tax year, which suggests this is only going to become more common. Ultimately, the challenge is not whether the wealth exists, because in many cases it clearly does, but whether it can be accessed at the moment it is needed most.
