More than three quarters of farms to be affected by Tractor Tax, new research shows
More than three quarters of farms to be affected by Tractor Tax, new research shows
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The shadow environment secretary urged the Government to record the number of farmers dying by suicide. More than three-quarters of all farms in England and Scotland will be impacted by new inheritance tax rules which have sparked mass protests, according to new research.
![[Members of the Ulster Farmers Union take part in a protest on the streets of Londonderry]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/26/11/d181052cbdd452d70fd486e133a1074bY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM3OTc2NjY3-2.78791957.jpg)
It comes after lines of tractors took to streets across Northern Ireland as part of a UK-wide protest by farmers against the announced cap on Agricultural Property Relief (APR). From April 2026, the first £1 million of combined business and agricultural assets will continue to attract no inheritance tax.
![[Tractors parked on the lawns of Whitehall]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/11/13/34aae991-ca3d-4b33-8b0d-9af7a5b810be.jpg)
But for assets over £1 million, inheritance tax will apply with 50 per cent relief, at an effective rate of 20 per cent. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) have calculated that 42,204 out of 54,938 farms (76.8 per cent) across England and Scotland will be impacted by the new tax rules.
More than half affected are involved in cereals or general crop production as their main enterprise, with the rest predominantly livestock producers or mixed farming operations. AHDB analyst Tom Spencer said: “Our calculations show that cereals and general cropping farms are the most likely to be affected due to their scale and asset size. For livestock farms, it is those businesses with single-person ownership that are most at risk.”.
