Written questions by Barclay.

What estimate she has made of the number of people using the £1,000 tax free allowance for (a) trading and (b) property income in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

The tax-free allowances simplify the tax system and keep low levels of casual income out of taxation. Individuals with trading income or property income at £1,000 or below are not required to report the income and the use of allowances to HMRC through Self Assessment (SA). As a result, HMRC cannot provide a total estimate on the number of people using the allowances and the cost of the allowances.More information on the tax free allowances can be found at:Tax-free allowances on property and trading income - GOV.UK”

What estimate she has made of the cost of the £1,000 tax free allowance for (a) trading and (b) property income in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

The tax-free allowances simplify the tax system and keep low levels of casual income out of taxation. Individuals with trading income or property income at £1,000 or below are not required to report the income and the use of allowances to HMRC through Self Assessment (SA). As a result, HMRC cannot provide a total estimate on the number of people using the allowances and the cost of the allowances.More information on the tax free allowances can be found at:Tax-free allowances on property and trading income - GOV.UK”

What data HM Revenue and Customs holds on the (a) area and (b) value of (i) farms and (ii) farmland.

HMRC receives information in relation to the agricultural value of agricultural land, buildings, and other assets as part of claims for agricultural property relief. This information relates to the agricultural property owned by the individual who may not own all of the relevant farm

With reference to page 118 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, and page 32 of the Budget Policy Costings document, if she will publish the (a) methodology and (b) data sources on how the revenue from the (i) agricultural property relief and (ii) business property relief was estimated.

The Government has published information about reforms to agricultural property relief at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) in 2026-27 are expected to be unaffected by these reforms. Historic data published by HMRC shows that in 2021-22, 73% of estates making agricultural property relief claims did so on total amounts worth less than £1m. HMRC is commissioned by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) at each fiscal event to produce Inheritance Tax receipts forecasts. More information behind this process is published on the OBR website: https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/tax-by-tax-spend-by-spend/inheritance-tax/. HMRC analysis suggests that in 2026-27, 500 estates claiming agricultural property relief will receive a lower financial benefit as a result of the Government’s reforms, out of a projected total of 1,800 estates making agricultural property relief claims in that year. This means that around three-quarters of estates making agricultural property relief claims will be unaffected by this measure.