O’Dowd welcomes u-turn on tax inherited farmland
Date published:
Finance Minister John O’Dowd has welcomed changes by the Westminster government on tax on inherited farmland.
Today’s announcement confirms the inheritance tax relief threshold for farmers, scheduled to take effect in April 2026, will increase from £1 million to £2.5 million.
Speaking today Minister O’Dowd said:
“Myself, other Ministerial colleagues and the industry had repeatedly called for a change in the proposed inheritance tax by the Chancellor and I welcome today’s announcement.
“With a larger agri-food sector than England, Scotland, and Wales, our farms faced a significantly greater impact from the Autumn Budget 2024 changes to Inheritance Tax and Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs, with more family farms being brought into the scope of inheritance tax.
“Today’s u-turn by the British Government will provide some assurances to the farming community that family farms can be passed on to the next generation, without having to be broken up and partly sold to pay large Inheritance Tax bills.
“This is a step in the right direction but there is still more work to be done to minimise the impact of this tax on the farming community.”
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