Families have made close to 32,000 successful reclaims for overpaid inheritance tax in the past six years, according to HMRC.

Over 22,000 reclaims were made on the sale of property or land, according to figures obtained by NFU Mutual in a Freedom of Information request.

Nearly 10,000 reclaims were made following a fall in shares or investment values.

IHT is assessed on the value of an estate at the date of death, with tax paid within six months. If, when the executors come to sell any assets, the price has fallen, they can reclaim the overpaid tax from HMRC.

To reclaim, executors must sell property within four years of the death or shares and investments within 12 months of death.

Sean McCann, Chartered Financial Planner at NFU Mutual, said: “A large inheritance tax bill can be a nasty shock for grieving families. These figures show that more and more people are waking up to the possibility that they could reclaim overpaid inheritance tax.

“Considering the buoyant housing market, it’s surprising to see more than 22,000 reclaims have been made on the sale of property or land.

“In some cases, this will have been a result of property being overvalued on the inheritance tax return or because of deterioration of the property between the death and subsequent sale. There have also been nearly 10,000 reclaims made following a fall in shares or investment values.

“During times of market volatility it's important families check whether they have overpaid inheritance tax, in some circumstances reclaims can amount to thousands of pounds.”

The 2019/20 tax year saw the highest number of IHT reclaims, with 6,696 reclaims made.

During the 2021/22 tax year 4,241 reclaims were made, roughly two thirds of which were for property or land.