IHTM18061 - Stocks and shares: listed stocks, shares and investments: introduction

For Inheritance Tax purposes, a company’s stocks and shares are said to be listed (or ‘quoted’) when the company is listed on the market of a designated stock exchange, such as the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, that meets the HMRC definition of ‘listed’.

• The shares and investments are regularly bought and sold on the exchange, by both private investors and large institutions, such as pension companies.
• The shares are easily marketable, being open to all, and have a readily ascertainable price.
• The highest and lowest prices of the day are published the following working day, notably in the Financial Times.

Fuller details of the stock exchanges and markets that meet this definition can be found in the table here. They include both UK and non-UK exchanges.

Where a company does not have a listing on one of those markets, its stocks and shares may be listed on other markets, and the table referred to above gives details of those too. Investments of this type should be included on form IHT412.

Holdings of listed shares will not qualify for Business Relief (IHTM25131) unless the qualifying conditions are satisfied, and they represent a control holding, and then relief is only due at 50% (IHTM25201). The instalment option (IHTM30191) is also only available if the shareholding is a control holding under IHTA84/S228(1)(a)).

The instructions relating to listed stocks and shares in this chapter relate to both death and non-death valuations.