Quick Succession Relief: IHT When Deaths Happen Close Together (2026/27)

QSR reduces the Inheritance Tax due on a death where the deceased had themselves inherited assets from someone else who died within the previous five years, so the same wealth is not taxed at close to the full rate twice in quick succession.

QSR gives a percentage reduction of the tax previously paid on the earlier transfer, tapering the closer the two deaths are together: broadly, the shorter the gap between the two deaths, the higher the percentage of the earlier tax that can be offset — check current gov.uk guidance for the exact banding, as this is a fixed statutory scale.

It needs to be identified and claimed as part of the estate's Inheritance Tax return — it is not automatically applied, so executors and their advisers need to check whether the deceased had received an inheritance within the previous five years that was itself subject to IHT.

No — QSR only applies where Inheritance Tax was actually paid on the earlier transfer. If the earlier inheritance was covered entirely by the nil-rate band or another full exemption, there is no earlier tax to offset.

QSR specifically addresses chargeable transfers where tax was paid, most commonly on a death within the family in short succession, rather than lifetime gifts, which are covered separately by the seven-year taper relief rules for Potentially Exempt Transfers.

It typically arises with elderly relatives — for example, a spouse or sibling inheriting from one relative and then dying shortly afterwards themselves, meaning broadly the same pool of family wealth would otherwise face two full rounds of Inheritance Tax within a few years.