Glossary · UK
What is IHT400 Form?
The main HMRC account form used to report an estate for Inheritance Tax when it does not qualify as an "excepted estate".
Full Definition
The IHT400 is the main account form used to report the value of an estate to HMRC for Inheritance Tax purposes, required whenever an estate does not qualify as an 'excepted estate' (broadly, estates with no IHT to pay and simple circumstances can often be reported to the probate registry directly without a full IHT400). It runs alongside a series of supplementary schedules (for example IHT402 for transferring a spouse's unused nil-rate band, IHT403 for gifts, IHT404 for jointly owned assets, IHT405 for houses and land) depending on what the estate contains. Any Inheritance Tax due must generally be paid, or arrangements made via the Direct Payment Scheme from the deceased's bank accounts, before HMRC will issue the IHT421 probate summary that the probate registry needs to grant probate -- which is why executors of taxable estates often need to source funds before they can access the estate's own bank accounts.