HMRC has introduced an online service for estates that are unlikely to pay any inheritance tax (IHT) as they are under the £325,000 threshold
The HMRC form, IHT205 (2011), which is used to provide HMRC with estate information for inheritance tax purposes, has been made into an online service.
Form IHT205 must be completed to get a grant of representation which is needed to get access to the assets in the deceased’s estate.
Before receiving a grant, inheritance tax must be paid or it must be proved that there is no tax due. For most estates no tax is due and individuals will only need to fill in form IHT205 to provide brief details of the estate.
If tax is due on the estate, form IHT 4000 must be submitted to HMRC.
Currently any estate above the £325,000 inheritance tax threshold (per person) is taxed at 40% on any amount above the threshold. It is taxed at 36% if at least 10% is left to a charity.
HMRC’s online service to submit estate information is available here.
