Guidance

Register an estate as a personal representative

Use the online service to register a deceased person's estate if you’re an executor, administrator or personal representative.

From:
HM Revenue & Customs
Published
2 August 2021
Last updated
6 April 2024 — See all updates

Who should register

If you’re an executor, administrator or personal representative, you need to register an estate if the:

  • estate is worth more than £2.5 million at the date of death
  • value of assets sold by the personal representative in a tax year is more than £500,000
  • total Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax due for the period between the date of death and the date the estate is settled (the ‘administration period’) is more than £10,000

When you register you will get a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) so that you can fill in a Trust and Estate Tax Return.

There is a different way to register if you’re an agent acting on behalf of an estate.

When to use informal arrangements

You should use informal arrangements if you do not need to register the estate and the estate has tax to pay.

If an estate has no chargeable income and no chargeable gains then there is no need to register or send a return, as long as you do not need to make a claim for a relief or an election.

Up to 5 April 2024, if the only income the estate received during the administration period was from bank account interest and that was less than £500, there is no requirement to report the estate income to HMRC.

From 6 April 2024, estates with income of all types up to £500 will not pay Income Tax on that income as it arises. Where income exceeds that amount, tax will be payable on the full amount.

The £500 tax-free amount will apply:

  • for every tax year of administration
  • to all types of income, after taking off ISA income which continues to be exempt after a person has died until closure or up to 3 years following the death

When to register

Register the estate by 5 October after the tax year in which the estate starts to receive income, or has capital gains where tax is liable for Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax.

For example, if your estate received some interest for the first time in May 2023 (2023 to 2024 tax year) and became liable to Income Tax on it, you will need to register by 5 October 2024 (2024 to 2025 tax year).

What you’ll need

Personal representative details

You’ll need to provide your:

  • name
  • correspondence address
  • National Insurance number (if you are a UK citizen)
  • email address
  • telephone number
  • date of birth

If you do not know your National Insurance number, you’ll need to give your:

  • passport details (the number and expiry date)
  • address

Details about the person that’s died

You’ll need to provide their:

  • name
  • last address
  • date of birth
  • date of death
  • National Insurance number (if they were a UK citizen)

Years of tax liability

You’ll need to select the tax years that a return is required for:

  • Income Tax
  • Capital Gains Tax
  • both Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax

How to register

Before you can register an estate, you need to have a Government Gateway user ID and password. If you do not have one, you can create one the first time you register.

You’ll need:

  • an email address (this will be linked to the estate’s Government Gateway account)
  • your full name

You must select an Organisation Government Gateway account to register.

You’ll need a new Government Gateway user ID for each estate you register.

Register now

HMRC services may be slow during busy times. Check if there are any problems with this service.

After you have registered

We’ll send you a UTR, usually within 15 working days. You’ll need the UTR to start filing Self Assessment tax returns. You can do this by either:

After you’ve sent your return, HMRC will tell you how much the estate owes. You’ll need to pay the Self Assessment bill by the deadline.

Make changes to the estate’s details

You can manage your estate’s details if you need to:

  • change estate information
  • authorise an agent
  • close an estate

Updates to this page

Published 2 August 2021
Last updated 6 April 2024 + show all updates

  1. Dates under 'When to register' section have been updated. Information added to 'When to use informal arrangements' section.

  2. We have updated the dates under 'When to register' as part of annual uprating.

  3. Welsh translation has been added.

  4. First published.

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