Loophole exempts 355 landowners in England from inheritance tax, data shows

The Bolton Abbey estate in north Yorkshire, one of the estates that benefit from the tax break. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Three hundred and fifty-five wealthy landowners in England including aristocrats are benefiting from an obscure tax break worth at least £68m, data shows.

The landowners benefit from a loophole called the “tax-exempt heritage assets scheme”, under which they can register land and property as heritage assets and make them exempt from inheritance tax.