How to value an estate for Inheritance Tax and report its value

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Check if you need to send full details of the estate

Whether you need to send full details of the estate depends on several things, including whether there’s Inheritance Tax to pay.

‘Full details’ means the estate’s assets and debts, any gifts made, and any reliefs and exemptions. These will provide you with the total value of the estate.

You may have to pay a financial penalty if you give inaccurate information.

If Inheritance Tax is due

You can use the online checker tool to find out if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay.

If there is, you’ll need to send full details of the estate, within 12 months of the person dying and before applying for probate.

When to send full details of the estate’s value even if no tax is due

You’ll need to send full details of the estate, even if there’s no tax to pay, if the person who died:

  • gave away over £250,000 in the 7 years before they died
  • gave gifts then continued to benefit from them in the 7 years before they died
  • left an estate worth more than £3 million
  • was ‘deemed domiciled’ in the UK
  • had foreign assets worth more than £100,000
  • was living permanently outside the UK when they died but had previously lived in the UK
  • had a life insurance policy that paid out to someone other than their spouse or civil partner and also had an annuity
  • had increased the value of a lump sum from a personal pension to be paid after their death, while they were terminally ill or in poor health
  • had agreed that property they’d given away during their lifetime would be part of their estate rather than pay a pre-owned asset charge

You must do this within 12 months of the person dying.

There are different rules if the person died on or before 31 December 2021.

If the estate includes trusts

You’ll need to send full details of the estate if the person who died:

  • gave gifts (such as cash, property, and shares) that were put into trusts
  • held assets worth over £250,000 in trust
  • held more than one trust

You’ll also need to send full details if assets held in trust passed to a surviving spouse, civil partner or charity, and the trust was worth:

  • £1 million or more
  • £250,000 or more after the amount passing to the surviving spouse, civil partner or charity has been deducted

When full details are not needed

You do not have to give full details of an estate’s value if all of the following are true:

  • the estate counts as an ‘excepted estate’
  • there’s no Inheritance Tax to pay
  • you’ve checked that none of the reasons under ‘when you need to send full details of the estate’s value even if no tax is due’ apply

Most estates are excepted estates.

What counts as an excepted estate

An estate is usually an excepted estate if any of the following apply:

  • its value is below the current Inheritance Tax threshold
  • the estate is worth £650,000 or less and any unused threshold is being transferred from a spouse or civil partner who died first
  • the person who died left everything to a spouse or civil partner living in the UK or to a qualifying charity, and the estate is worth less than £3 million (search the charity register for registered UK charities)
  • the person who died was living permanently outside the UK (a ‘foreign domiciliary’) when they died, and the value of their UK assets is £150,000 or less

There are different rules for excepted estates if the person died on or before 31 December 2021.

What to do next

The process you need to follow depends on whether:

Dealing with an excepted estate

If you apply for probate for an excepted estate, you’ll need to report its estimated value even though there’s no Inheritance Tax to pay. Check if you need probate and apply for it if you do.

You do not need to report the value of an excepted estate if you do not need probate.

There is a different way to report an excepted estate if the person died on or before 31 December 2021.

Applying for probate in Scotland or Northern Ireland

There’s a different way to apply for probate if the person who died lived in Scotland or lived in Northern Ireland.

If you need help with probate or the value of the estate

Contact HM Courts and Tribunals Service if you’re not sure if you’ll need probate or if the value of the estate changes.

Courts and Tribunals Service Centre
Telephone: 0300 303 0648
Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm
Closed on bank holidays
Find out about call charges
Webchat
Email: contactprobate@justice.gov.uk

If you need help with Inheritance Tax

Contact HM Revenue and Customs for questions about Inheritance Tax.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Part of What to do when someone dies: step by step

  1. Step 1 Register the death

    1. Register the death

    Check what to do if:

  2. Step 2 Tell government about the death

    The Tell Us Once service allows you to inform all the relevant government departments when someone dies.

    1. Use the Tell Us Once service to tell government
    2. If you cannot use Tell Us Once, tell government yourself

    You'll also need to tell organisations outside government, like employers and private pension providers, banks, and utility companies.

  3. Step 3 Arrange the funeral

    1. Arrange the funeral
    2. Get help paying for a funeral
    3. Get help paying for a child's funeral

  4. Step 4 Check if you can get bereavement benefits

    You might be eligible for financial help.

    Check if you can get:

  5. and Deal with your own benefits, pension and taxes

    Your tax, benefit claims and pension might change depending on your relationship with the person who died.

    1. Manage your tax, pensions and benefits if your partner has died
    2. Check how benefits are affected if a child dies

  6. and Find bereavement support and services

    Get help with managing grief and the things you need to do when someone dies.

    1. Find bereavement help and support
    2. Find bereavement services from your local council

  7. and Check if you need to apply to stay in the UK

    If your right to live in the UK depends on your relationship with someone who died you might need to apply for a new visa.

    Check the rules if:

    1. Contact UKVI to check the rules for other visas

  8. Step 5 Value the estate and check if you need to pay Inheritance Tax

    To find out if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay, you need to estimate the value of the property, money and possessions (the ‘estate’) of the person who died.

    1. Value the estate and pay Inheritance Tax if it's due

  9. Step 6 Apply for probate

    You might need to apply for probate before you can deal with the property, money and possessions (the ‘estate’) of the person who died.

    1. Check if you need to apply for probate
    1. Apply for probate

  10. Step 7 Deal with the estate

    Pay any debts or taxes owed by the person who's died. You can then distribute the estate as set out in the will or the law.

    1. Deal with the estate
    1. Update property records