Comment by washadjeffmad

The 40% only applies to the portion of the estate that exceeds the tax-free threshold, which is currently £325K. If you leave your home to your children or grandchildren, that can be raised to £500K, and if you leave it to your spouse, it increases to £650K.

There are also ways to reduce the tax rate, like through charitable donations.

Like in the US with estate taxes, relatively few people are affected by it.