Major changes to inheritance tax on agricultural assets have been welcomed in Northumberland – but there have been warnings from some that the fight is not over yet. The Government announced a significant watering down of the controversial policy on Tuesday December 30 following months of campaigning.
Under the changes put forward as part of 2024's budget, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m would have to pay inheritance tax at 20 per cent. The Government has now confirmed that the threshold will rise from £1 million to £2.5 million per person.
According to figures from Strutt and Parker reported by Farmers Weekly, the average land value in 2025 came out at £10,600 per acre for arable land was £10,600 and £8,000 per acre for pasture land. Northumberland has some of the largest farms in the country – the average farm in the North East is 138 hectares according to Government figures.
Nationally, the farming union the NFU has said the changes marked a "huge relief". President Tom Bradshaw said: "We have spent the past 14 months campaigning and lobbying to try and mitigate the worst of the impacts of the proposals. After it became clear that this policy wasn't going anywhere, we have focused our campaign to mitigate the worst of its impacts for the majority.
Read more at Hexham Courant
