AfterLoss

Inheritance tax checker

Will the estate owe inheritance tax?

A two-minute estimate from the values you already know. The result tells you what the executor owes HMRC, before allowances and exemptions are applied.

About the estate

Rough figures are fine. Every question has a “what does this mean?” link if you're unsure.

A rough total of what the deceased owned, minus what they owed. The calculator works with round numbers, so estimate when you have to.

What counts as estate value?

Add up the market value of everything below, then subtract debts and any funeral costs.

Include

  • Property: home, any second homes, holiday lets, land
  • Money in current accounts, savings, ISAs, premium bonds
  • Investments: shares, unit trusts, bonds, fund holdings
  • Cars, jewellery, art, antiques, valuable belongings
  • Life insurance payouts that are NOT written in trust
  • Money owed to the person (loans, unpaid invoices)
  • Business interests and foreign property

Don't include

  • Pension pots and pension lump sums (separate IHT rules)
  • Life insurance written in trust (sits outside the estate)
  • Anything passing to a surviving spouse (handled by the question below)
  • Gifts given in the last 7 years (asked separately below)
  • Day-to-day belongings of no real resale value

Joint property: include the deceased's share (usually half) unless it passes automatically to a surviving spouse.

The tax allowances change over the years, so the date sets which rates apply. Leave blank to use today's rates.

Did a husband, wife, or civil partner die before them?

When the first of a couple dies, any allowance they didn't use can be added to the second person's allowance. This can double the tax-exempt amount.

What does this actually mean?

Everyone gets a £325,000 nil-rate band: the first £325,000 of an estate is not taxed. Married couples and civil partners can pass anything to each other tax-exempt, so the first person to die usually uses none of their £325,000 allowance.

That unused amount transfers to the second person, giving them up to £650,000 of allowance instead of £325,000. The same doubling applies to the £175,000 residence allowance below. Answer Yes only if a spouse or civil partner has already died.

Is a main home being left to children or grandchildren?

This can unlock up to £175,000 of extra allowance on top of the standard £325,000. Only the main home counts, and only if it passes to direct descendants. The allowance shrinks on estates over £2,000,000 and disappears entirely on very large ones.

Who counts as a direct descendant?

Yes, these all count as direct descendants:

  • • Children, including adopted, fostered, and stepchildren
  • • Grandchildren and great-grandchildren
  • • The widow, widower, or civil partner of a child or grandchild who has already died (for example, a son's wife inheriting after the son passed away)

A current partner's children from a previous relationship do not count unless they have also been adopted or are stepchildren of the person who died.

No, the £175,000 doesn't apply if the home goes to siblings, nieces, nephews, friends, or anyone else. It also tapers away on estates over £2,000,000: £1 of allowance lost for every £2 above that, so it's gone entirely by the time an estate reaches around £2.35 million (or £2.7 million for a couple).

Enter an estate value to see the estimate.

You can change any answer at any time. The result updates as you type.