Tax on property, money and shares you inherit
Joint property, shares and bank accounts
You do not usually have to pay any Stamp Duty or tax when you inherit property, shares or the money in joint bank accounts you owned with the deceased.
Inheritance Tax
What you pay will depend on how you owned the shares or property or how your bank accounts were set up.
If you and the deceased jointly owned the assets, you’ll be known as ‘joint tenants’ (‘joint owners’ in Scotland).
If you each owned a part of the assets, you’ll be known as ‘tenants in common’ (‘common owners’ in Scotland and ‘coparceners’ in Northern Ireland). Each part could be half or an agreed percentage of the money, shares or property.
Check with your bank if you’re not sure how the money in your accounts was divided up.
Joint tenants
You automatically inherit anything you owned as ‘joint tenants’.
You may have to pay Inheritance Tax if the whole of the deceased’s estate (all their money, property and possessions) is worth more than the Inheritance Tax threshold of £325,000 and the deceased’s estate does not pay.
Tenants in common
You may have to pay Inheritance Tax on the deceased’s share of the money in bank accounts, shares or property if the whole of their estate (money, property and possessions) is worth more than the Inheritance Tax threshold of £325,000.
If the deceased left you their share of the money, shares or property in their will, the executor of the will or administrator of their estate should pay the Inheritance Tax out of the estate.
If the estate does not have enough money to pay the Inheritance Tax on the deceased’s share of the assets, or the executor does not pay, you’ll have to pay it. You may have to sell the shares or property to pay the tax and any other debts.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will contact you if you need to pay.
You may have to tell the Land Registry about the death of one of the property’s owners.
Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax
You may have to pay other taxes on anything you earn or profits you make from: