Excepted Estate

An excepted estate is one that is simple enough not to require a full IHT400 return to HMRC. The executor or administrator declares the estate value as part of the probate application itself. [source: gov-uk/inheritance-tax-2026-04-29.html]

In broad terms, an estate qualifies as excepted if it is below the nil-rate band (£325,000) or otherwise pays no Inheritance Tax, has no significant lifetime gifts in the 7 years before death, no foreign assets above modest limits, and isn't entangled with trusts. The detailed eligibility rules sit in HMRC's guidance and are stricter than they sound: a single seven-year-old gift, or a small property abroad, can take an estate out of the excepted category. [source: gov-uk/inheritance-tax-2026-04-29.html]

Excepted-estate procedures were simplified for deaths after 1 January 2022, removing the previous IHT205 form for most cases and folding the declaration into the probate application. The result is that a non-taxable, straightforward estate can complete the probate side without ever filing a separate IHT form. [source: gov-uk/inheritance-tax-2026-04-29.html]

For estates that aren't excepted, see IHT400 and the Inheritance Tax guide.

Last verified: 29 April 2026 against gov.uk/inheritance-tax.