If one’s estate is worth less than £325,000 or they leave everything above that threshold to their spouse, civil partner, a charity or community sports club, they would be completely exempt from the tax.

To encourage charitable giving on death, the rate of inheritance tax is reduced — from 40 percent to 36 percent — if at least 10 percent of the net estate is left to charity.

For example, if an individual dies leaving a net estate of £1million, split equally between his four children, inheritance tax payable on the estate is £400,000 (40 percent of £1million), leaving £600,000 after tax (£150,000 per child).

If instead the individual had left 10 percent of his estate to charity – equal to £100,000, the amount on which inheritance tax is payable is reduced to £900,000 and the rate of Inheritance Tax is reduced to 36 percent.