In this section:
  • Excepted estates - if the death was between 1 April 1981 and 5 April 1996

Excepted estates - if the death was between 1 April 1981 and 5 April 1996

An 'excepted estate' is an estate where no Inheritance Tax is due. Although there are forms to complete, a full Inheritance Tax account (form IHT400) isn't required.

On this page:

What qualifies as an excepted estate?

If the person died between 1 April 1981 and 5 April 1996, the estate will generally be an excepted estate if it qualifies as a low value estate.

This means if you're a personal applicant you'll probably need to fill in form IHT205 Return of Estate Information (or form C5 in Scotland) as part of the probate process. If you're a solicitor you only need to swear the oath.

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What is a low value estate?

To qualify as a low value estate, the estate must meet all the following conditions:

  • the value of the estate was less than the excepted estate limit for the year of death - see the table below
  • the value of any foreign assets included in the estate was less than the limit for the year of death - see the table below
  • the deceased person hadn't made any transfers into a trust during their lifetime
  • the deceased person had made the UK their permanent home - they were 'domiciled' in the UK when they died
Limits for low value estates

Deaths between

Excepted estate limit

Assets held outside of the UK limit

1 April 1981 and 31 March 1983

£25,000

£1,000

1 April 1983 and 31 March 1987

£40,000

£2,000

1 April 1987 and 31 March 1989

£70,000

£10,000

1 April 1989 and 31 March 1990

£100,000

£15,000

1 April 1990 and 31 March 1991

£115,000

£15,000

1 April 1991 and 5 April 1995

£125,000

£15,000

6 April 1995 and 5 April 1996

£145,000

£15,000

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