Jeremy Clarkson shares major end-of-life decision as he fears for kids after health woes

Jeremy Clarkson has hit out at Labour’s inheritance tax reforms, revealing fears that his children could face a ‘whopping tax bill’ if they follow his end-of-life wishes after recent health scares

Jeremy Clarkson has criticised what he termed the “absurd tax on the dead” levied by Labour, leaving him in a quandary over his end-of-life arrangements. The issue may have been brought into sharp relief for the former Top Gear presenter following a string of health scares in recent years.

In October 2025, Jeremy was urgently admitted to hospital after falling “poorly” with an undisclosed illness. Prior to this, the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host underwent emergency heart surgery where two stents were fitted to clear crucial arteries, prompting him to revamp his diet.

In his most recent column, the owner of Diddly Squat Farm revealed that while pondering what to leave to his three adult children, Emily, Finlo and Katya, in his will, he realised how dying is now “unbelievably complicated”.

After considering what music he would like to be played at his funeral and bequeathing family heirlooms, the 65-year-old television personality confessed he had initially thought all the hard work was done.

However, Jeremy’s accountants then reminded him that he needed to decide what his family should do if he becomes “incapacitated” due to illness in the future.

He penned in The Sunday Times: “I therefore have to pick a couple of trustworthy and sensible people and then leave instructions for how they should take care of business.

“But I’m advised that actually, they aren’t instructions. It’s just guidance. All I can say is that I ‘would wish not to be in a vegetative state’ and that I would ‘prefer it if no heroic efforts’ were made to bring me round after a prolonged deprivation of oxygen.”

Jeremy then admitted his concern that his children, whom he shares with ex-wife Frances Cain, will be saddled with a “whopping tax bill” if they follow his wishes and turn off any potential life support.

Taking another jab at the Labour government’s Inheritance Tax policies as he mulled over the concept, Jeremy proposed: “So how’s this for a scenario? I have some kind of medical issue and become a cabbage.

“If the people I choose to be my representatives do as I ask and pull the plug, then my kids will be hit with a whopping tax bill. If they wait till Starmer and Reeves have gone and someone sensible is in the driving seat, they won’t.”

Inheritance Tax is a levy on the estate (the property, money and possessions) of someone who’s passed away, which will apply if the value of a person’s estate exceeds the £325,000 threshold.

This isn’t the first time that Jeremy has been vocal about Labour’s Inheritance Tax reforms, particularly regarding their impact on farmers, recently arguing that many farms will still be adversely affected, despite chancellor Rachel Reeves raising the threshold following several protests.

The former Grand Tour host previously stated in his column for The Times that farming inheritance should be viewed differently, as “you can’t just sell a farm to someone and expect them to have the first clue about how it should be run.”

However, government ministers have defended the tax, stating that the reforms could generate approximately £300m annually, while only impacting a minority of farms.