Inheritance tax is becoming a concern to more and more people. A simple yet effective way of planning is to use exemptions and reliefs and use of the normal expenditure out of income exemption can be particularly useful. It is a fact that inheritance tax receipts are increasing and the number of families paying inheritance tax is now at a 35 year high. In 2009/10 2.6% of deaths gave rise to IHT. In 2015/16 this was 7.1%. And the expectation is that the tax receipts will increase still further with a prediction of £5.6 billion from tax year 2020/21. Inheritance tax is obviously affecting more estates and will continue to do so. Many people will be keen to take practical action that can reduce the impact of the tax without materially affecting their standard of living or financial security.