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What qualifies as an excepted estate?

If the deceased person died between 6 April 2023 and 5 April 2004, the estate will generally be an excepted estate if one of the following applies:

• it's a low value estate (see more below)
• the deceased person was a 'foreign domiciliary' - they lived permanently abroad and died abroad and the value of their UK assets was less than £100,000
  

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.

• Find out about Inheritance Tax if the deceased person was 'domiciled' abroad Opens new window

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 wasn't more than the excepted estate limit for the year of death - see the table below
• any assets that the deceased person benefited from that were held in a trust, were in a single trust and the value was less than £100,000
• the value of any assets held outside of the UK was less than £75,000
• the value of any 'specified transfers' was less than £100,000 (see the section on specified transfers below)
• the deceased person hadn't made any other gifts within seven years of their death that weren't specified transfers
• the deceased person hadn't made any gifts that they continued to benefit from - these are known as 'gifts with reservation of benefit' (see the section on gifts with reservation of benefit below)
• the deceased person had made the UK their permanent home - they were 'domiciled' in the UK when they died

Limits for low value estates

What is a specified transfer?

Specified transfers are gifts the deceased person made during their lifetime that were either:

• cash, quoted shares or securities
• straightforward gifts to an individual of land, together with furnishings and contents enjoyed with that land (but not gifts into trusts)

What is a 'gift with reservation of benefit'?

If the deceased made a gift to someone and still continued to benefit from it - such as a house they gave away but still continued to live in - it is considered a gift with reservation of benefit, and counts as still being part of their estate for Inheritance Tax purposes.

• Inheritance Tax when passing on your home to your children

Useful contacts

• Probate and Inheritance Tax Helpline