- 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.
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
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 to 5 April 1995 |
£125,000 |
£15,000 |
6 April 1995 to 5 April 1996 |
£145,000 |
£15,000 |
