Halifax has revealed that there are 62 postcode districts in which more than a quarter of home sales are above the inheritance tax threshold (IHT).

The bank''s report takes into account the government''s effective doubling of the combined tax threshold for married couples, which lowered the number of affected households to just 600,000 or three per cent of owner-occupied properties.

Knightsbridge ranked as the area with the highest number of home sales above the IHT threshold, with 77 per cent of its estates falling into that price bracket.

Another London district, St James'' Park, came in second place with 69 per cent of its estates being priced at above £600,000. Overall, 46 of the country''s 62 IHT-hotspots were located in the capital, with a further 14 spread across other parts of the south-east.

Martin Ellis, Halifax chief economist, commented: "There are still some parts of the UK where a significant proportion of households are vulnerable to paying inheritance tax based purely on the value of their own home despite the changes to inheritance tax announced earlier this month."

The report estimated that inheritance tax would raise £3.9 billion in 2007/08.