House Clearance Help & Advice: UK Probate: Taxes

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UK Probate: Taxes

When it comes to probate and inheritance in the UK, what sort of taxes does an inheritor face? The simple answer is that in most cases, no inheritance tax is levied at all. However, in cases when inheritance tax is necessary it will postpone a probate application until it has been paid.

The usual IHT threshold is somewhere between £200,000 and £300,000 however please do check this figure before deciding that you do not need to pay inheritance tax. Remember that certain parts of the estate are deductable from this figure and that calculating tax is never a walk in the park.

It is possible to check by using the Inland Revenue's website at inlandrevenue.gov.uk/cto and also for more detail here:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cto/customerguide/page1.htm

The relevance of all this to probate and grants of representation is that if the deceased's estate approaches or exceeds the Inheritance Tax Threshold then the account of the estate will be sent to the capital taxes office after your interview. This will mean that they can check that all is in order and will soon notify you of the amount that you need to pay in tax before being granted probate.

Arrangements for the payment of this fee, up to around 40%, will be explained and discussed in your interview. Correspondence between you and the capital taxes office may occur if there is a disagreement with the values stipulated. And, importantly, please note that tax on an estate is always due six months after the end of the month of the death of the deceased and that interest is charged on unpaid tax from the due date onwards.

For any questions regarding inheritance tax in the UK you wil lneed to contact HM Revenue and Customs who can be found online at hmrc.gov.uk

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