Paying the deceased's tax
As the personal representative of someone who's died you'll need to settle their tax affairs. This means completing a Self Assessment (SA) tax return and paying any tax due.
After we've received the tax return we'll send you a statement of account, showing how much tax is due, or how much tax will be repaid. It'll also show the deadline for paying any tax due - the 'balancing payment' - normally the following 31 January.
On this page:
- If you're late with sending in a tax return
- The statement of account
- Payment deadlines
- Payment methods
- If you can't pay the tax bill
- Getting help and advice
If you're late with sending in a tax return
You must send back the deceased's completed tax return by 31 January following the tax year it refers to. If you manage to send the form in by 31 October, we'll calculate the tax for you. If you can't get the return in by 31 October, we can't guarantee to get the statement of account printed and posted to you in time for you to make a tax payment by 31 January. So you'll need to calculate any tax due yourself and include that figure on the return.
Completing a tax return on behalf of someone who has died
The statement of account
A statement of account tells you what tax is owed by the deceased - and when you have to pay it. It may show payments of tax that the deceased person has already made towards the tax due for the year in which they died. If tax has been paid late in the past the statement will also include details of the amount of interest charged. This also has to be paid.
Understand your Self Assessment Statement
Payment deadlines
Income Tax is paid in two instalments - on 31 January and 31 July after the end of the tax year. Capital Gains Tax must be paid by 31 January. So the payment on 31 January can be made up of three elements:
- the final balancing payment of tax due for the tax year which ended on the previous 5 April
- Capital Gains Tax due on gains made in the tax year that ended on 5 April
- a payment on account of half the tax due for the current tax year
The tax due on 31 July is the second payment on account of half the tax due for the tax year that ended on 5 April.
If a tax payment is due soon you can ask the Tax Office to reduce it to nil until you have worked out how much tax is due for the period up to the date the person died. Contact the Tax Office shown on the tax bill.
If you can't pay the tax by the date it's due you'll have to pay interest from then until the date you pay it.
Payment methods
You can pay the tax due electronically through a bank's Internet or telephone banking service. You can also make a secure online payment on our website using a debit card. To pay by these methods you'll need to know:
- the amount due
- the deceased's National Insurance number
- the deceased's tax reference number
- HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC) account details
You can find all of these details on the statement of account.
You can also pay:
- at the Post Office ®
- through bank Giro
- by sending a cheque in the post
How to pay tax - find out more
If you can't pay the tax bill
You may not have access to enough cash from the deceased's estate to pay the tax bill straight away. If this is the case contact the Tax Office that sent out the tax bill as soon as possible. We can delay collecting the tax - but you'll have to pay interest on any unpaid tax until it's paid.
If the tax due is more than the value of all the goods, property and cash owned by the deceased when they died, you won't have to pay the excess. You don't personally have to pay any tax that can't be paid by the deceased's estate.
If the tax bill is much larger than you expected there may be a mistake in the tax calculation. Ask us to double check the tax return, or get professional advice.
What to do if you can't pay a tax bill - learn more
Getting help and advice
We recognise that you may need help in dealing with the deceased's
tax affairs, especially if you're personally bereaved. We also recognise
that finding all the records you need can be difficult. We can talk
you through what you need to do over the phone or in a face to face
meeting, either at the Tax Office or at your home, depending on your
circumstances.
Look up contact details for
all Tax Offices
You can call HMRC Trusts Deceased estates helpline on Tel 0131 777 4030, 8.30 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday, for specialist advice about the Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax liabilities of deceased estates arising after the date of death.
For help with a Self Assessment return you can call the Self Assessment Helpline on Tel 0845 900 0444. It's open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm every day, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
Administering a deceased person's affairs can be complex and you might want to get professional advice from a solicitor, a tax adviser or an accountant.
Find a solicitor on the Law Society website
Find a tax adviser at the Chartered Institute of Taxation website
