The UK Treasury faces strong pushback from farming groups and MPʼs about its new inheritance tax rules impact calculations. The governments claim that only 29% of farms will face new taxes doesnt match with other estimates showing much higher numbers
National Farmers Union and the Treasury are using different methods to count affected farms: the government looks at yearly tax relief claims (about 500) while NFU counts all commercial farms making more than £21‚000 profit yearly. The Treasuryʼs numbers show roughly 60‚610 farms might pay more tax starting Apr-2026‚ but they say its not that simple
The Country Land and Business Association took another path - they checked farms bigger than 50 hectares (these farms worth more than £1m based on todays land prices). Their math shows about 70‚000 farms will face new rules; this matches NFUʼs estimate of 68‚970 farms
- Treasury counts yearly estates that claim tax relief
- NFU looks at profitable working farms
- CLA bases count on farm size and land value
A BBC article quoted Dan Neidle (described as independent tax expert) supporting Treasuryʼs low numbers. The government didnt do full study of new rules impact - they say tax planning and business setup will help many farms avoid extra costs‚ but farming groups dont agree with this view