Which IHT Form Do I Need? UK Guide to HMRC Inheritance Tax Forms (2026)
IHT205 was abolished for deaths on or after 1 January 2022. Most executors now confirm an excepted estate via the probate application — no separate HMRC form required. For taxable or complex estates, IHT400 and its schedules remain essential. This guide explains exactly which forms apply to your estate.
Key rule change: IHT205 abolished from January 2022
For deaths on or after 1 January 2022 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or 1 April 2023 (Scotland), excepted estates no longer file a separate IHT form with HMRC. Personal representatives confirm the excepted estate status within the probate application (PA1P or PA1A) instead. IHT205 is no longer accepted for qualifying deaths.
Quick decision guide: which IHT form do you need?
| Situation | Form needed | Sent to |
|---|---|---|
| Excepted estate, death on/after 1 Jan 2022 | No separate IHT form — declare via PA1P / PA1A | HMCTS Probate only |
| Taxable / non-excepted estate, death on/after 1 Jan 2022 | IHT400 + schedules + IHT421 | HMRC first, then IHT421 to HMCTS |
| Excepted estate, death before 1 Jan 2022 | IHT205 (now retired — use if not yet filed) | HMCTS Probate (with PA1P/PA1A) |
| Pay IHT from deceased's bank account | IHT423 (direct payment scheme) | Send to HMRC with IHT400 |
| Claim transferable nil-rate band from deceased spouse | IHT402 (schedule with IHT400) | HMRC with IHT400 |
What is an excepted estate?
An excepted estate is one that meets HMRC's simplified criteria — no IHT is payable and the estate is straightforward enough that a full IHT account (IHT400) is not required. For deaths on or after 1 January 2022, the three categories of excepted estate are:
- Low value estates: the gross value of the estate does not exceed the available nil-rate band (£325,000 for a single person; up to £650,000 if a transferable nil-rate band is claimed from a pre-deceased spouse or civil partner). No assets in trust, no foreign assets exceeding £100,000, no gifts within 7 years that would use up the nil-rate band.
- Exempt estates (spouse/charity): the net estate after spouse/civil partner and charitable exemptions does not exceed the nil-rate band, the estate is UK-only, no assets in trust, and the gross estate does not exceed £3 million.
- Foreign domiciliary estates: the deceased was domiciled outside the UK and UK assets do not exceed £150,000.
If the estate does not clearly fall within one of these categories, IHT400 must be completed. When in doubt, completing IHT400 is the safe option — HMRC may challenge an excepted estate declaration if it later emerges the estate was not correctly classified.
IHT400: the main inheritance tax account
IHT400 is a comprehensive document — typically 20–30 pages plus schedules. It requires the personal representative to list every asset and liability of the estate, claim applicable reliefs and exemptions, and calculate the IHT due. You do not complete every schedule: only those relevant to the specific estate.
Core IHT400 contents
- Deceased's personal details, domicile, and date of death
- Names and details of all executors / administrators
- Gross and net value of all UK assets (pages 5–8)
- Assets and debts outside England and Wales (if applicable)
- Gifts, trusts, and other transfers in the 7 years before death
- Reliefs claimed (BPR, APR, spousal exemption, charity exemption)
- IHT calculation — pages 12–16
- Declaration signed by all executors / administrators
Key IHT400 schedules
| Schedule | Purpose | When needed |
|---|---|---|
| IHT402 | Claim transferable nil-rate band (TNRB) from deceased spouse / civil partner | Deceased's spouse/CP died first with unused NRB |
| IHT403 | Gifts and other transfers in the 7 years before death (PETs and CLTs) | Deceased made significant gifts in last 7 years |
| IHT404 | Jointly owned assets — joint tenancy or tenants in common | Deceased owned any asset jointly |
| IHT405 | Houses, land, and buildings | Estate includes property |
| IHT406 | Bank and building society accounts (sole name) | Standard for most estates |
| IHT407 | Household and personal goods | Standard for most estates |
| IHT409 | Pensions — benefits payable on death | Deceased had any pension |
| IHT410 | Life assurance policies not in trust | Estate includes insurance proceeds |
| IHT411 | Listed stocks and shares | Estate includes quoted investments |
| IHT412 | Unlisted stocks and shares / business interests | Estate includes unquoted shares |
| IHT413 | Business interests — BPR claim | Claiming business property relief |
| IHT414 | Agricultural property — APR claim | Claiming agricultural property relief |
| IHT417 | Foreign assets | Deceased had assets outside the UK |
| IHT418 | Assets held in trust (interest in possession) | Deceased had a life interest in a trust |
| IHT419 | Debts owed by the deceased | Estate has liabilities to deduct |
| IHT421 | Probate summary — always required with IHT400 | Always |
| IHT423 | Direct payment from bank account to pay IHT | Paying IHT before probate |
| IHT430 | Reduced 36% IHT rate for charitable legacies | At least 10% of net estate left to charity |
The IHT and probate timeline for taxable estates
- Value the estate — obtain probate valuations for all assets as at the date of death, including property (RICS/estate agent), shares, bank accounts, and personal effects.
- Complete IHT400 and relevant schedules — calculate the IHT liability, claim reliefs, and complete IHT421 (probate summary).
- Pay the IHT due — use IHT423 to pay from the deceased's bank accounts, or from personal funds. IHT on instalment assets can be deferred; all other IHT must be paid before HMRC stamps IHT421. The payment deadline is 6 months after the end of the month of death — interest accrues from this date.
- Submit IHT400 to HMRC — post the completed forms to HMRC Inheritance Tax. Processing typically takes 12–20 weeks in 2026.
- Receive stamped IHT421 from HMRC — HMRC returns a stamped IHT421 confirming the account has been accepted.
- Apply for probate — submit PA1P (if there is a will) or PA1A (no will) to HMCTS Probate, enclosing the stamped IHT421, original will, and death certificate. Pay the probate fee (£300 for estates over £5,000).
- Administer the estate — once the grant of probate or letters of administration is received, collect assets, pay debts, and distribute to beneficiaries.
FAQs
What IHT form do I need for an excepted estate in 2026?
For deaths on or after 1 January 2022 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (and from 1 April 2023 in Scotland), excepted estates no longer need to complete a separate IHT form. The rules changed under the Inheritance Tax (Delivery of Accounts) (Excepted Estates) (Amendment) Regulations 2021. Instead, the personal representative (executor or administrator) confirms the estate meets the excepted estate criteria as part of the probate application — on PA1P (if there is a will) or PA1A (if there is no will). No IHT form is sent to HMRC. An estate qualifies as an excepted estate if: (1) it is a 'low value' estate — the gross value does not exceed the IHT threshold (currently £325,000 for a single person, or £650,000 if the transferable nil-rate band is available from a deceased spouse/civil partner); OR (2) it is an estate falling within the IHT threshold including assets benefiting from spouse/civil partner exemption and charitable gifts, provided no IHT is payable; OR (3) it is a 'foreign domiciliary' estate where the deceased was domiciled outside the UK and UK assets do not exceed £150,000. If an estate does not meet any excepted category — for example because assets exceed the relevant threshold, because the estate includes business or agricultural property relief claims, or because there is a trust interest — IHT400 must be completed instead. Pre-2022 deaths: IHT205 (now retired form) was the short-form return for excepted estates. Executors dealing with deaths before 1 January 2022 should use IHT205 (if not already submitted).
What is IHT400 and when do I need to complete it?
IHT400 is HMRC's main inheritance tax account — the comprehensive return that personal representatives complete for taxable or complex estates. You must complete IHT400 if the estate does NOT qualify as an excepted estate, for example because: the gross estate exceeds the available nil-rate band (£325,000, or up to £1 million with spouse and RNRB); the deceased made potentially exempt transfers (PETs) or chargeable lifetime transfers (CLTs) within 7 years of death that take the estate over the threshold; the estate includes assets held in trust that are chargeable to IHT; the estate includes foreign assets; IHT reliefs (business property relief, agricultural property relief) are claimed; or the deceased was not domiciled in the UK. IHT400 consists of a core form plus schedules (IHT401–IHT430, though not all will apply). You complete only the schedules relevant to the estate. The core IHT400 asks for: personal details of the deceased and executors; details of all assets and liabilities; the total taxable estate; the IHT calculation; and a declaration. SUBMISSION: IHT400 is sent directly to HMRC Inheritance Tax (not to the Probate Registry). After HMRC processes the account and IHT is paid or a payment arrangement agreed, HMRC issues a stamped IHT421 (probate summary), which the executor then sends to HMCTS Probate to obtain the grant of probate. You cannot get probate until HMRC approves the IHT400 and issues the IHT421. Processing typically takes 12–20 weeks in 2026. ONLINE: IHT400 can be completed online via HMRC's IHT service if you are a solicitor or licensed probate practitioner. Personal applicants currently complete IHT400 on paper or as a fillable PDF.
What is IHT421 and do I always need it for probate?
IHT421 is HMRC's probate summary — a one-page document that HMRC stamps and returns to the executor after processing IHT400. HMCTS Probate requires the stamped IHT421 before it will issue a grant of probate (or letters of administration), so it acts as a bridge between HMRC and the Probate Registry. YOU NEED IHT421 ONLY IF you have completed IHT400 — that is, for non-excepted (taxable or complex) estates. Excepted estates do not send anything to HMRC, so there is no IHT421 in those cases; the probate application stands alone. HOW IT WORKS: after you submit IHT400 to HMRC and pay the IHT due (or arrange an instalment payment), HMRC processes the account and sends back a stamped IHT421 to you. You then include the stamped IHT421 with your probate application (PA1P or PA1A) to HMCTS Probate. HMCTS will not issue the grant without it. TIMING ISSUE: this sequential process means taxable estates have a longer pre-probate delay than excepted estates. You must wait for HMRC to process IHT400 and issue IHT421 before probate can begin. In practice this adds weeks to the timeline. One partial workaround: you can pay the IHT due on instalment assets (such as land, business property) over 10 years — but you must still pay the non-instalment IHT before HMRC will issue the stamped IHT421. DIRECT PAYMENT SCHEME: you can pay IHT directly from the deceased's bank account using form IHT423, without needing to release funds from the estate first (which often requires the grant of probate).
Which IHT400 schedules do I need to complete?
IHT400 has a core form plus up to 30 supplementary schedules (IHT401–IHT430). You complete only those that apply to the estate. The most commonly needed schedules are: IHT401 — domicile outside the UK (if the deceased may have been domiciled abroad). IHT402 — claim for transferable nil-rate band (TNRB) from a deceased spouse or civil partner — widely needed to double the nil-rate band. IHT403 — gifts and other transfers of value made by the deceased in the 7 years before death (including potentially exempt transfers and chargeable lifetime transfers). IHT404 — jointly owned assets (shares with another person as joint tenant or tenant in common). IHT405 — houses, land, buildings and interests in land. IHT406 — bank and building society accounts held in the deceased's sole name. IHT407 — household and personal goods. IHT409 — pensions (pension benefits payable on the deceased's death, including expression of wishes). IHT410 — life assurance and annuities (policies held outside a trust). IHT411 — listed stocks, shares and investments. IHT412 — unlisted stocks, shares and control holdings (including unquoted company shares). IHT413 — business or partnership interests (for business property relief claims). IHT414 — agricultural property (for agricultural property relief claims). IHT417 — foreign assets (assets outside the UK). IHT418 — assets held in trust (where the deceased had an interest in possession trust and the trust assets form part of their estate). IHT419 — debts owed by the deceased (deductible liabilities). IHT421 — probate summary (always completed with IHT400; stamped by HMRC). IHT423 — direct payment scheme (to pay IHT from the deceased's bank account before the grant of probate). IHT430 — reduced rate of IHT for gifts to charity (claim for the 36% reduced rate if at least 10% of the net estate is left to charity).
How do I pay inheritance tax before I have the grant of probate?
This is one of the practical catch-22 problems of estate administration: IHT must be paid (or an instalment arrangement agreed) before HMRC will stamp IHT421, but estates often cannot release assets until after probate is granted. There are several solutions. DIRECT PAYMENT SCHEME (IHT423): the most common solution. You contact the deceased's bank or building society and ask them to pay HMRC directly from the deceased's account, using form IHT423. Banks participating in the scheme can transfer funds to HMRC before probate, specifically to pay IHT. Not all banks participate, but most high street banks do. You complete IHT423 with the account details and send it to HMRC with (or shortly after) IHT400. The bank then pays HMRC directly. INSTALMENT OPTION (IHT400 Box 20): for certain assets — land, shares in a family company, business or agricultural property — IHT can be paid in 10 annual instalments, with the first instalment due 6 months after the end of the month of death. This means the first instalment is due before probate, so you still need IHT423 or other funds for the first instalment, but the rest of the IHT on those assets can follow. Interest runs on instalments from the due date. NON-INSTALMENT ASSETS: IHT on cash, quoted shares, insurance policies, and most personal property must be paid in full before HMRC issues IHT421 — you cannot use instalments for these. PERSONAL FUNDS: executors can pay IHT from their own funds and recover from the estate after probate. Professional executors commonly do this. COMMERCIAL LOAN: banks and specialist lenders offer probate loans to fund IHT payment, repayable once estate assets are sold. HMRC INTEREST: IHT unpaid after the due date (6 months after the end of the month of death) accrues interest at HMRC's official rate, currently 7.75% per annum (2026). It is therefore important to pay on time even if no formal demand has been received.
What changed in January 2022 for inheritance tax forms?
The Inheritance Tax (Delivery of Accounts) (Excepted Estates) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 came into force on 1 January 2022, fundamentally changing the IHT reporting process for simpler estates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (Scotland followed from 1 April 2023). BEFORE 2022: personal representatives of excepted estates had to complete and sign IHT205 (the short-form inheritance tax return) and send it to HMRC as part of the probate application. This was a separate document from the probate forms. AFTER 1 JANUARY 2022: IHT205 was abolished for qualifying deaths. Instead, the personal representative declares the estate meets the excepted criteria within the probate application itself (PA1P or PA1A) — no separate HMRC form is required. HMRC no longer receives a separate document for excepted estates. This simplified the process for the majority of estates (approximately 70% of all probates are excepted estates). EXPANDED EXCEPTED ESTATE THRESHOLDS: the 2021 regulations also raised the gross estate limit for 'low value' excepted estates. Previously the limit was £1 million for spouse/civil partner transfers; the new rules set a higher gross limit that allows the estate to include: up to £1 million in assets qualifying for the spousal or charity exemption, plus assets up to £325,000 using the standard nil-rate band. EXISTING IHT205 STOCK: some old guidance and professional practices still reference IHT205. For deaths before 1 January 2022 the old rules still apply, and IHT205 may still be needed if not already filed. For deaths on or after that date, executors of excepted estates should not complete or file IHT205 — it is no longer required and is no longer accepted by HMRC. WHAT REMAINED UNCHANGED: IHT400 and its schedules are still required for non-excepted estates. The IHT421 requirement, IHT423 direct payment scheme, and the 6-month payment deadline all remain in force.
Getting help with IHT forms
For excepted estates — the majority of estates in England and Wales — the IHT process is now simpler than it was before January 2022. If you have a will and the estate is straightforward, the probate application (PA1P) and a declaration is all that is required.
For taxable or complex estates, IHT400 demands careful completion. Errors can lead to penalties, interest charges, or an HMRC compliance check. Professional guidance from a probate solicitor or tax adviser is strongly recommended where the estate is large, includes business or agricultural assets, or has complex trust arrangements.
For more on related topics, see our guides on completing IHT400, the old IHT205 (for pre-2022 deaths), how to apply for probate, excepted estates, and the inheritance tax nil-rate band.
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