HMRC Inheritance Tax (IHT)

Introduction

Inheritance Tax (IHT) may be payable on an estate when someone dies, or when assets are transferred into a discretionary trust or to a company.

For the majority of estates there will be no IHT to pay because they fall within the nil rate band.
If you are dealing with an estate and do not know whether or not Inheritance Tax will be due, our Customer Guide to IHT will help you to decide.

Grants of representation

A grant of representation will be required in most except the very smallest of estates. Advice on whether or not a Grant of Probate is necessary can be found on the Probate Service website in their leaflet PA2 - How to obtain probate (PDF 212K). For advice about applications in Scotland and Northern Ireland, use the probate link aside.

If you want to apply for a grant without the help of a solicitor or other agent, use the probate link.

Excepted estates

If there is no IHT to pay, most estates will be excepted estates. Our Customer Guide will help you decide if an estate is an excepted estate.

Estates with tax to pay

If there is any IHT to pay, the tax must be paid before the Probate Registry will issue a grant. You will need to get an IHT reference and payslip before you can pay the tax or send any forms to us. You can get a reference by using the ‘do it online’ link.

Once you have got an IHT reference you will also need to fill in forms IHT200 and D18 (or C1 in Scotland).

Transfers of unused nil rate bands

In his pre-budget report, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that for deaths on or after 9 October 2007 it will be possible for spouses and civil partners to transfer their unused Inheritance Tax nil rate bands.