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The government plans to raise the inheritance tax threshold to 拢1m for couples and 拢500,000 for individuals wanting to pass on their homes to family members.

In a letter to The Times over the weekend prime minister David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne also said that housing benefit is likely to be cut as they battle spiralling welfare costs. Both policies are likely to be officially announced in Osborne鈥檚 emergency Budget on Wednesday.

Surging house prices mean that by the end of the decade record numbers will face having to pay inheritance tax, with 64,000 more estates liable for the tax, dubbed 鈥榙eath duties鈥�.

Cameron and Osborne said: 鈥淚t can only be right that when you鈥檝e worked hard to own your own home, it will go to your family and not the taxman.鈥�

However, critics have said that the tax break stands only to benefit the wealthy and could distort the housing market as people hang on to family homes to pass them on tax free.

It has also been pointed out that the measure is unfair towards single and divorced householders.

Osborne is expected to announce that money raised from the sale of family homes is also protected from death duties.

The 拢1bn cost of the inheritance tax threshold increase will be offset by a raid on pension pots. Those earning more than 拢150,000 will have tax allowances on their pension payments tapered off.

Commenting on the plans, RICS head of policy Jeremy Blackburn said: 鈥淭argets for owner-occupation, rather than greater capacity across all tenures, is the consistent message we are getting from government.

鈥淲hile the prime minister and the chancellor have called a plan for 鈥榦ne nation home ownership鈥�, we urgently need to increase genuinely affordable homes for rent in both public and private sectors.

鈥淭here are many for whom it is neither possible nor desirable to buy, so encouraging the institutionalised Private Rented Sector (PRS) and freeing up council and housing associations to build this much needed rented accommodation are vital.

鈥淓nforcing local plans, using brownfield sites and more finance for smaller builders, are all steps in the right direction, but need to be part of an overall coordinated strategy.鈥�