The Financial Secretary to the Treasury has written to the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) to confirm that HM Treasury strongly supports some key recommendations on changes to Inheritance Tax.

The government announced on 23 March 2021 that it will:

• change reporting regulations so that from 1 January 2022 over 90 per cent of non-taxpaying estates each year will no longer have to complete Inheritance Tax forms for deaths when probate or confirmation is required; and 
• make permanent the ability for those dealing with a trust or estate to provide an Inheritance Tax return without requiring physical signatures from all others involved, easing the administration burden in cases where an Inheritance Tax return is still required. 

These new rules will result in dramatic changes in reporting regulations from 1 January 2022 for more than 200,000 estates every year.

It was also announced that the government will continue to work on the remaining recommendations made by the OTS: for digitisation, improving processes for lifetime and trust charges, guidance, and working with court services. Some of these are longer term in nature and will be taken forward as part of the wider Tax Administration strategy.