When someone dies, sorting out their affairs is hard enough without a tax deadline hanging over you. Yet HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) doesn’t pause the clock for grief: inheritance tax (IHT) must usually be paid within six months of the death, often long before Probate or Confirmation has even been granted. If you’ve been asking when do you pay inheritance tax, who’s actually responsible for it, or how long you genuinely have before penalties apply, this guide sets out exactly where you stand.
Inheritance Tax is due by the end of the sixth month after the month in which someone died. If they died on 14 March, the deadline is 30 September of the same year. This applies whether or not Probate or Confirmation has been granted, and whether or not the estate’s funds are actually accessible yet.
The 6-month Rule
The “6-month rule” refers to HMRC’s statutory deadline for paying IHT owed on a deceased person’s estate. The tax becomes due at the end of the sixth month after the month of death, not six months from the funeral, not six months from when a solicitor is instructed, and not six months from when Probate is applied for. It’s tied purely to the date of death, and understanding how inheritance tax works from the outset makes this deadline far less stressful to manage.
This catches many families off guard, because a Grant of Probate or Confirmation itself can typically take several months to come through, and HMRC will generally want to see some tax paid before it will authorise the Grant in the first place. In other words, the inheritance tax bill often falls due before the estate’s own assets can be touched.
Where the estate includes property or certain business or agricultural assets, HMRC will allow the tax attributable to those assets to be paid in equal annual instalments over up to ten years. The first instalment is still due at the six-month deadline, and interest usually accrues on the instalments that follow. If the underlying asset is sold before the ten years are up, the remaining balance falls due immediately.
For most other assets (the deceased’s own bank accounts, investments, personal possessions), HMRC expects payment in full by the six-month deadline, regardless of whether Probate or Confirmation has been granted yet.
A worked example
The deadline is always calculated from the end of the month of death, giving a full six months to act, but it comes round faster than most executors expect:
| Date of Death | IHT Payment Deadline |
|---|---|
| 3rd January | 31st July, same year |
| 18th April | 31st October, same year |
| 27th September | 31st March, following year |
| 9th November | 31st May, following year |
Six months sounds generous, but identifying every asset and liability, obtaining formal valuations, and preparing the IHT account (form IHT400 in England and Wales, or the C1/C2 in Scotland) all take time, and every one of those steps has to happen before a penny is paid. Instructing a solicitor can massively reduce the amount of time this takes and the risk of errors.
What Happens if the 6-month deadline is missed?
Interest starts to accrue daily on any unpaid IHT from the day after the six-month deadline, at the rate HMRC has set at the time (published and updated periodically on GOV.UK). Beyond interest, HMRC can also charge penalties where the IHT account is submitted late or contains inaccuracies. None of this is waived simply because Probate hadn’t come through yet, or because the executor was waiting on a bank or valuer, so it pays to start the process as early as possible.
Who pays inheritance tax?
IHT is paid from the estate, not from the personal funds of the beneficiaries or the executor. However, someone has to take legal responsibility for calculating it, reporting it to HMRC, and arranging payment, and that duty falls on the executor named in the Will, or the administrator (in Scotland, the executor-dative) if there is no Will.
This is an important distinction. The executor isn’t personally liable for the tax itself, but they are personally liable for getting the process right. If tax is underpaid, reliefs from tax free thresholds are wrongly claimed, or deadlines are missed, HMRC can pursue the executor directly, which is one of the main reasons families bring in a solicitor to manage estate administration rather than handling it alone.
There is one exception worth knowing about: if the deceased made large gifts in the seven years before death and the estate can’t cover the tax on them, HMRC can in some circumstances seek the tax from the person who received the gift.
Understanding the Inheritance Tax Threshold
Whether anyone has to pay tax at all comes down to the estate’s total value, for inheritance tax purposes, against the available inheritance tax threshold. Every estate has a standard tax free allowance of £325,000, known as the nil-rate band, below which no IHT is due, and this figure is frozen at the same level each tax year until April 2031. Where a home is left to direct descendants, such as children, stepchildren or grandchildren, an additional residence nil rate band of £175,000 may also apply, potentially raising an individual’s combined threshold to £500,000.
Any unused allowance can usually be transferred to a surviving spouse or civil partner, meaning a married couple or a couple in a civil partnership can shelter up to £1 million between them before any tax is due. Assets passing directly between spouses or civil partners are, in addition, entirely exempt from inheritance tax regardless of value. Only the portion of the estate above these thresholds is taxed, currently at the standard inheritance tax rate of 40%.
Because reliefs, transferable allowances and the residence nil rate band all interact differently depending on the makeup of the estate, it’s easy for an executor to miscalculate what’s actually owed, so it’s always worth double-checking the figures before you pay tax to HMRC. If there’s any doubt about how much of the estate falls within the tax-free allowance, it’s best to seek professional advice early, rather than risk an incorrect payment or a missed relief which can cause unnecessary delays. If you’d rather get ahead of this altogether, our inheritance tax planning solicitors can help you and your family make the most of these allowances well before the six-month clock ever starts.
The Real Problem: Paying Before You Can Access the Money
Most estates are asset-rich and cash-poor in the first few months after a death. Bank accounts are frozen, property can’t be sold, and investments can’t be transferred until the Grant of Representation is issued, yet HMRC generally wants tax paid, or at least a substantial payment on account, before it will release the Grant. Executors typically bridge this gap using:
- The Direct Payment Scheme, where the deceased's own bank or building society pays HMRC directly from their frozen accounts.
- The instalment option for property, business and agricultural assets, described above.
- Payment from the executor's own account in the short term, with the amount reclaimed from the estate once funds are released – or, where this isn't practical, a short-term executor's loan.
Knowing which of these applies, and getting the paperwork moving early enough to actually use them, is where an experienced estate administration solicitor earns their keep.
Scotland vs England: Probate & Confirmation Have the Same 6-month Deadline
Inheritance Tax is a UK-wide tax, so the six-month payment deadline applies identically whether the estate is dealt with by Probate in England and Wales or Confirmation in Scotland. What differs is the court process that follows payment – Confirmation is granted by the Sheriff Court, and timescales can vary significantly depending on which court is involved. As a dual-qualified firm, we act for families dealing with both Probate and Confirmation, and can advise on applying for Confirmation or, where there’s no Will, on appointing an executor-dative.
How We Help Executors Meet the Deadline
Our Bereavement Team works to defined timescales from the day we’re instructed, and we handle the parts of this process that most commonly cause delay: valuing the estate, preparing the HMRC and IHT paperwork correctly the first time, arranging Direct Payment Scheme releases, and applying for Probate or Confirmation as soon as the estate is ready. If you’re an executor trying to work out when do you need to pay inheritance tax on a specific estate, we can give you a clear answer and a plan – not just the general rules.
Facing an Inheritance Tax Deadline?
Speak to our Bereavement Team for clear, practical guidance on Probate, Confirmation and Inheritance Tax.
Please note: This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances. If you need advice on a legal matter, get in touch with our team.
