You must pay Inheritance Tax by the end of the sixth month after the person died. For example, if the person died in January, you must pay Inheritance Tax by 31 July. There are different due dates if you’re making payments on a trust . HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) will charge you interest if you do not pay by the due date. You usually need to make a payment towards any Inheritance Tax due before you can get a ‘grant of representation’ (also known as ‘probate’). This is called ‘confirmation’ in Scotland . This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg) . How to pay You’ll need to get a payment reference number before you can pay your Inheritance Tax bill. Pay from your bank account You can pay from your own bank account or a joint account with the deceased. Make an online payment by: approving through your bank account bank transfer Pay now You can also pay: using telephone banking at your bank or building society by cheque through the post You can claim the money back from the deceased’s estate or the beneficiaries once you get probate. Pay from accounts owned by the deceased You can pay using the deceased’s: bank, savings or investment accounts government stock If you cannot pay If you’re unable to release funds from the estate and cannot pay another way, you can ask to postpone paying Inheritance Tax . If you do not know how much to pay You can make payments before you know the exact amount of Inheritance Tax owed by the deceased person’s estate. These are known as ‘payments on account’ . Check your payment has been received HMRC do not send receipts for each payment you make. They’ll write to tell you when you’ve paid all the Inheritance Tax and interest you owe. If you’ve paid through your own bank or building society, check your statement to confirm the payment has left your account.

Approve a payment through your online bank account

You can pay Inheritance Tax directly using your online or mobile bank account. When you’re ready to pay, start your Inheritance Tax payment . Select the ‘pay by bank account’ option. You’ll then be directed to sign in to your online or mobile banking account to approve your payment. The payment is usually instant but can take up to 2 hours to show in your bank account. You’ll need to have your online banking details ready to pay this way.

Make an online or telephone bank transfer

You can pay Inheritance Tax from your own bank account or a joint bank account if you held one in joint names with the deceased. You can claim it back from the deceased’s estate. You can pay by Faster Payments (online or telephone banking), CHAPS or Bacs to HM Revenue and Customs’ ( HMRC ) account: sort code - 08 32 10 account number - 12001136 account name - HMRC Inheritance Tax You’ll need to use your Inheritance Tax payment reference number as the payment reference. How long it takes Payments made by Faster Payments will usually reach HMRC on the same or next day, including weekends and bank holidays. CHAPS payments usually reach HMRC the same working day if you pay within your bank’s processing times. Bacs payments usually take 3 working days. Check your bank’s transaction limits and processing times before making a payment. Overseas payments Use these details to pay from an overseas account: business identifier code ( BIC ) - BARCGB22 account number ( IBAN ) - GB66 BARC 2011 4763 4955 90 account name - HMRC Inheritance Tax HMRC ’s banking address is: Barclays Bank PLC 1 Churchill Place London United Kingdom E14 5HP

At your bank or building society

You can pay Inheritance Tax from your own bank account or a joint bank account if you held one in joint names with the deceased. You can claim it back from the deceased’s estate. You can pay at a branch by cash or cheque. Please complete one of your bank’s paying in slips with the following HMRC bank account details: sort code - 25 61 21 account number - 63495590 account name - HMRC Inheritance Tax Make your cheque payable to ‘HM Revenue and Customs only’. Write the name of the deceased and your Inheritance Tax payment reference number on the back of the cheque. You’ll find the reference number on the letter HMRC sent you. HMRC will accept your payment on the date you make it and not the date it reaches HMRC ’s account, if you pay between Monday and Friday.

By cheque through the post

Make your cheque payable to ‘HM Revenue and Customs only’. Write both of the following on the back of the cheque: the name of the deceased your Inheritance Tax payment reference number - find this on the letter HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) sent you Your payment may be delayed if you do not fill in your cheque properly. Do not fold your cheque. Send your cheque separately to any other forms or letters you need to send HMRC . If you send anything else with your cheque, your payment might be delayed. Do not send cheques for probate fees to HMRC. Find out how to apply for probate and pay probate fees . Where to send your cheque HM Revenue and Customs Inheritance Tax Team BX5 5BD Allow 10 working days for the payment to reach HMRC .

From the deceased's bank, savings or investment account

You can ask banks, building societies or investment providers to pay some or all of the Inheritance Tax due from the deceased person’s accounts. This is called the ‘Direct Payment Scheme’. Investment providers can include: National Savings & Investments ( NS&I ) pensions or life insurance brokers investment firms wealth management accounts You can start this process before you’ve got probate (known as ‘confirmation’ in Scotland). Ask the bank, building society or investment provider to make you a ‘personal representative’ - each one will do this in a different way and some may not be part of the Direct Payment Scheme. Get your Inheritance Tax payment reference number . Fill in form IHT423 and send it to the bank, building society or investment provider. Send a separate form for each account you want to pay HMRC from. Send Inheritance Tax Account form IHT400 and any supplementary pages or supporting documents to HMRC. If you’re in Northern Ireland, include Probate Summary form IHT421 . If you’re in Scotland, include Confirmation form C1 . Send the forms to the following address: HM Revenue and Customs Inheritance Tax Team BX9 1HT After you’ve sent the forms The bank, building society or investment provider will pay HMRC some or all of the Inheritance Tax owed. What happens next depends on which country in the UK you’re in. In England and Wales HMRC will send you a unique code so you can apply for probate online . In Northern Ireland and Scotland HMRC will stamp and return Probate Summary form IHT421 (Northern Ireland) or Confirmation form C1 (Scotland) - this is confirmation that you’ve got probate.

Using British government stock

Write to Computershare Investor Services, who run the British government stock scheme. Tell them you want to pay Inheritance Tax and how much of the stock you want to use. Enclose a copy of the death certificate and the stock reference number (if you have it). British Government Stocks (Gilts) Computershare Investor Services plc The Pavilions Bristol BS99 6ZW Computershare Investor Services plc gilts@computershare.co.uk Telephone: 0370 703 0143 Find out about call charges At the same time, send HMRC : a letter saying how much tax you want to be paid out of the stock Inheritance Tax Account form IHT400 - you’ll need to put your Inheritance Tax payment reference number on the form Probate Summary form IHT421 if you’re in Northern Ireland Confirmation form C1 if you’re in Scotland HM Revenue and Customs Inheritance Tax Team BX9 1HT HMRC will contact Computershare and ask for the money to be transferred. This could take up to 4 weeks. Do not pay this way if you need to get probate (known as ‘confirmation’ in Scotland) quickly. (Probate is the right to deal with the deceased person’s property, money and possessions.) After the money has been transferred If the amount transferred is not enough to cover the Inheritance Tax you owe, HMRC will write to tell you how much to pay and how to pay it. In England and Wales HMRC will send you a unique code so that you can apply for probate online . In Northern Ireland HMRC will send your IHT421 form to the Probate Registry. The Probate Registry will confirm you have probate by sending you a ‘grant of representation’. In Scotland HMRC will return your Confirmation form C1 to you so you can apply for confirmation .

By transferring national heritage property

In very exceptional cases you may be able to make Inheritance Tax payments by transferring national heritage property to the Crown. National heritage property may include: buildings or land of historic, architectural, scenic or scientific interest artworks, books and manuscripts or scientific collections of historic, scenic or scientific interest Offers to make Inheritance Tax payments by transferring national heritage property to the Crown are dealt with on an individual basis. Contact the HMRC Heritage team for information on making an offer. HMRC Heritage Telephone: 03000 562388 Find out about call charges HMRC Heritage HM Revenue and Customs Ferrers House, PO Box 38 Castle Meadow Road Nottingham NG2 1BB If your offer is accepted Even if your offer’s accepted, you must first pay all of the Inheritance Tax you owe through other means and have a ‘grant of representation’ (also known as ‘probate’). This is called ‘confirmation’ in Scotland . Once your property has been transferred HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) will repay the Inheritance Tax you’ve paid.

In yearly instalments

You can pay your Inheritance Tax on things that may take time to sell in equal annual instalments over 10 years. You must say on Inheritance Tax Account form IHT400 if you want to pay in instalments. You’ll usually have to pay interest on your instalments. Use the calculator to work out the interest you’ll need to pay. You must pay the tax in full when you’ve sold the deceased’s assets, such as their house or shares. When you must pay The first instalment is due at the end of the sixth month after the death (for example if they died on 12 January, you’d have to pay by 31 July). This is known as the ‘due date’. Payments are then due every year on that date. Paying early You can pay off the full tax and interest at any time. Write to HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) Trusts and Estates asking for a final assessment (you do not have to include payment). What you pay interest on You will not pay any interest on the first instalment unless you pay late. On each later instalment you must pay interest on both of the following: the full outstanding tax balance the instalment itself, from the date it’s due to the date of payment (if it’s paid late) What you can pay in instalments Houses You can pay 10% and the interest each year if you decide to keep the house to live in. Shares and securities You can pay in instalments if the shares or securities allowed the deceased to control more than 50% of a company. Unlisted shares and securities You can pay in instalments for ‘unlisted’ shares or securities (ones not traded on a recognised stock exchange) if they’re worth more than £20,000 and either of these apply: they represent 10% of the total value of the shares in the company, at the price they were first sold at (known as the ‘nominal’ value or ‘face value’) they represent 10% of the total value of ordinary shares held in the company, at the price they were first sold at You can find the face value of a share and whether it’s an ordinary share on the share certificate. You can also pay in instalments if either of these apply: at least 20% of the total Inheritance Tax the estate owes is on assets that qualify for payment by instalments paying Inheritance Tax on them in one lump sum will cause financial difficulties Business run for profit You can pay in instalments on the net value of a business, but not its assets. Agricultural land and property This is rare because most agricultural land and property is exempt from Inheritance Tax . Gifts You can pay in instalments if there is still Inheritance Tax to pay and you were given: buildings shares or securities part or all of a business If the gift was an unlisted share or security, it must still have been unlisted at the time of the death.

Get your Inheritance Tax payment reference number at least 3 weeks before you want to make a payment by filling in Form IHT122 . Send Inheritance Tax Account form IHT100 to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Pay the Inheritance Tax, either through a bank or building society or by cheque through the post . Payment deadlines Transfers You must pay Inheritance Tax on transfers into a trust or out of a trust (known as ‘exit charges’) no later than 6 months after the end of the month the transfer was made. 10-year anniversary charge You must pay inheritance Tax every 10 years from when the trust is set up. You must pay this no later than 6 months after each 10-year anniversary.

Pay early to avoid paying interest

You can make early Inheritance Tax payments before you know the exact amount the estate owes (this is known as a ‘payment on account’). If you do not pay all the tax the estate owes by the due date , HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) will charge you interest. Find out the Inheritance Tax interest rates . If you overpay If you pay more money than the final bill says the estate owes, HMRC will refund the excess after you’ve been given probate ( confirmation in Scotland) . Probate is the right to deal with the deceased person’s property, money and possessions. HMRC will also pay you interest on the amount you’ve overpaid. To receive the refund, you’ll need to write to HMRC . HM Revenue and Customs Inheritance Tax Team BX9 1HT Put ‘Repayment - further details’ at the top of the letter. Include the name, number and sort code of the bank account you want the refund to go to. The letter must be signed by the same people who signed forms IHT400 and IHT100 if: you’re applying without the help of a solicitor or agent the refund is being paid into a different bank account to the one nominated in IHT400 or IHT100 If you’re an agent acting on behalf of the estate and you’re not asking for the refund to be paid into a different bank account, only put your signature on the letter.

Pay your Inheritance Tax bill

Q: Get a payment reference number

You’ll need to get an Inheritance Tax reference number from HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) at least 3 weeks before you make a payment. You can apply for one: online (unless you need it for a trust ) by post - using form IHT422, Application for an Inheritance Tax reference (the address you need is on the form)

Overview

You must pay Inheritance Tax by the end of the sixth month after the person died. For example, if the person died in January, you must pay Inheritance Tax by 31 July.

There are different due dates if you’re making payments on a trust.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will charge you interest if you do not pay by the due date.

You usually need to make a payment towards any Inheritance Tax due before you can get a ‘grant of representation’ (also known as ‘probate’). This is called ‘confirmation’ in Scotland.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

How to pay

You’ll need to get a payment reference number before you can pay your Inheritance Tax bill.

Pay from your bank account

You can pay from your own bank account or a joint account with the deceased.

Make an online payment by:

approving through your bank account
bank transfer

Pay now

You can also pay:

You can claim the money back from the deceased’s estate or the beneficiaries once you get probate.

Pay from accounts owned by the deceased

You can pay using the deceased’s:

If you cannot pay

If you’re unable to release funds from the estate and cannot pay another way, you can ask to postpone paying Inheritance Tax.

If you do not know how much to pay

You can make payments before you know the exact amount of Inheritance Tax owed by the deceased person’s estate. These are known as ‘payments on account’.

Check your payment has been received

HMRC do not send receipts for each payment you make. They’ll write to tell you when you’ve paid all the Inheritance Tax and interest you owe.

If you’ve paid through your own bank or building society, check your statement to confirm the payment has left your account.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Pay your Inheritance Tax bill

Overview

How to pay

Pay from your bank account

Pay from accounts owned by the deceased

If you cannot pay

If you do not know how much to pay

Check your payment has been received

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Pay your Inheritance Tax bill

Overview

How to pay

Pay from your bank account

Pay from accounts owned by the deceased

If you cannot pay

If you do not know how much to pay

Check your payment has been received

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