UK Inheritance Tax Calculator
Your estate
Estimate the Inheritance Tax on an estate under the rules in force now, with your allowances, gifts and reliefs.
Business, farm or AIM shares
Gifts in the last 7 years
Gifts of money or property to people, and how many years before death each was made. Leave out gifts to a spouse, civil partner or charity: they’re exempt.
Takes £3,000 off the earliest gift in each year before death, or £6,000 if the year before had no gifts. Each year is treated as a tax year, which keeps it simple.
Inheritance Tax thresholds current for 2026/27 (frozen until April 2031), last checked against GOV.UK.
Results update as you type
Inheritance Tax on your estate
How the £56,000 is worked out
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Main home | £450,000 |
| Savings and investments | £150,000 |
| Other assets | £50,000 |
| Less debts and funeral costs | −£10,000 |
| Estate after debts | £640,000 |
| Chargeable estate | £640,000 |
| Nil-rate band | £325,000 |
| Residence nil-rate band | £175,000 |
| Less your allowances | −£500,000 |
| Taxable amount | £140,000 |
| Inheritance Tax at 40% | £56,000 |
Where your £640,000 estate goes
- Your beneficiaries£584,000 · 91.3%
- Inheritance Tax£56,000 · 8.8%
Enter what the estate is worth to see where it goes.
The 36% charity rate
If at least 10% of the baseline amount goes to charity, the rest of the estate is taxed at 36% instead of 40%. Here is whether reaching it would leave your other beneficiaries better or worse off.
Leaving £31,500 more to charity (£31,500 in all, 10% of the baseline amount) would bring the rate down to 36% and the tax to £39,060, £16,940 less. But your other beneficiaries would get £14,560 less: the tax saved doesn’t cover the extra gift.
Pensions from April 2027
For deaths on or after 6 April 2027, most unused pension pots and death benefits count as part of the estate. Pensions left to a spouse or civil partner stay tax-free.
Enter any unused pension pots under “Your estate” to see what they would add.
Gifts and the 7-year clock
No gifts entered. Gifts to people in the 7 years before death count towards the estate: they use up the nil-rate band first, and tax on anything above it is reduced the longer ago the gift was made. Add them under “Gifts in the last 7 years”.
| Gift | Counts as | Above the band | Tax |
|---|
Taper relief on gifts above the nil-rate band
| Gift made before death | Share of the tax | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3 years | 100% | 40% |
| 3 to 4 years | 80% | 32% |
| 4 to 5 years | 60% | 24% |
| 5 to 6 years | 40% | 16% |
| 6 to 7 years | 20% | 8% |
| 7 years or more | None | 0% |
The £2 million taper
Your estate is £640,000 after debts, well under £2,000,000, so your residence band isn’t reduced. Above £2,000,000 it shrinks by £1 for every £2: it would all be gone at £2,350,000.
Paying the tax
The £56,000 on the estate is due by the end of the sixth month after the death. After that HMRC charges interest at 7.75% a year.
Tax on a home, land or a business can be paid in yearly instalments over 10 years. For qualifying business and farm property they are interest-free. Tax on a gift is paid by the person who received it.
Using this calculator
Enter what the estate is worth today, who it goes to and the marital status. The results show the tax if the death happened now, under the rules in force on that date.
- Enter your home’s value less the mortgage on it: the residence band can’t be more than the home’s value after the mortgage.
- Married? Enter what you leave to your spouse or civil partner to see the tax on the first death, and how much of your allowances would pass to them.
- Widowed? Choose “Widowed” and enter the share of each allowance your late partner didn’t use, usually 100%.
- Made gifts in the last 7 years? Open “Gifts in the last 7 years” and enter each one, with how long before death it was made.
- Have a pension you haven’t drawn? From 6 April 2027 most unused pension pots and death benefits count as part of the estate (pensions left to a spouse or civil partner stay tax-free). Enter it and tick “Work it out for a death from 6 April 2027” to see the tax under the new rules.
- Estate near £2 million? Above £2 million the residence band shrinks by £1 for every £2, and is all gone at £2,350,000. The calculator shows what that costs when it applies to your figures.
Leaving your home to children or grandchildren? Read Inheritance Tax and your home.
Where the figures come from
Every rate and threshold checked against GOV.UK in October 2026.
- GOV.UK: Inheritance Tax — the £325,000 nil-rate band, the 40% rate, the 36% charity rate and the exemptions for spouses, civil partners and charities
- GOV.UK: Inheritance Tax residence nil rate band — the £175,000 residence band, who counts as a direct descendant and the £2 million taper
- GOV.UK: Transferring unused basic threshold — passing unused allowances to a spouse or civil partner
- GOV.UK: Inheritance Tax on gifts — the 7-year rule, the £3,000 annual exemption, small, wedding and regular gifts, and taper relief
- HMRC Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM14612 — how taper relief reduces the tax on a gift
- GOV.UK: Reliefs threshold to rise to £2.5m for farmers and businesses — 100% relief on the first £2.5 million from 6 April 2026, 50% above, AIM shares at 50%, and interest-free instalments
Already law (Finance Act 2026) but not in force until 6 April 2027: most unused pension funds and death benefits then count towards the estate. The thresholds are frozen until 5 April 2031.
Frequently asked questions
How much can you leave tax-free?
Everyone has a £325,000 nil-rate band. The residence nil-rate band adds up to £175,000 more if your home, or a share of it, goes to your children or grandchildren. A spouse or civil partner can add whatever the other didn’t use, so a couple can leave up to £1 million between them. Anything left to a spouse, civil partner or charity is tax-free as well. Above all that the tax is 40%, and the thresholds are frozen until 5 April 2031.
What is the residence nil-rate band, and who counts as a direct descendant?
It’s an extra allowance of up to £175,000 when your home, or a share of it, goes to direct descendants. They are your children, grandchildren and their children, including step-children, adopted children and foster children. Nephews, nieces, brothers and sisters don’t count. The allowance can’t be more than the value of the share of the home they get, after any mortgage on it.
Can I pass my allowances to my spouse or civil partner?
Yes. Anything you leave to your spouse or civil partner is free of Inheritance Tax, and the share of your nil-rate band and residence band you don’t use passes to them. When they die, it’s added to their own, so they can have up to £650,000 of nil-rate band and £350,000 of residence band. Choose “Married or in a civil partnership” to see how much would pass on, or “Widowed” to add a late partner’s unused allowances.
What is the £2 million taper?
If the estate is worth more than £2 million after debts, before reliefs and exemptions, the residence nil-rate band shrinks by £1 for every £2 over. A single person’s £175,000 is gone at £2.35 million, and a widow’s or widower’s £350,000 at £2.7 million. The ordinary nil-rate band isn’t affected. From 6 April 2027 unused pensions count towards the £2 million too.
How are gifts taxed, and what is the 7-year rule?
A gift to a person is usually free of Inheritance Tax if you live for 7 years after making it. If you die within 7 years, it counts: gifts use up the nil-rate band first, oldest first, and any part above it is taxed at 40%, paid by the person who received the gift. Gifts to a spouse, civil partner or charity are exempt whenever you make them. Gifts into most trusts are taxed differently and aren’t covered here.
How does taper relief work?
If a gift above the nil-rate band was made 3 to 7 years before death, the tax on it is reduced: to 80% of the full tax for 3 to 4 years, 60% for 4 to 5, 40% for 5 to 6 and 20% for 6 to 7. That works out at 32%, 24%, 16% and 8% instead of 40%. Taper relief cuts the tax, not the value of the gift, so a gift within the nil-rate band still uses it up in full and gets nothing from taper relief.
Which gifts are exempt straight away?
You can give away £3,000 a year (the annual exemption), plus last year’s if you didn’t use it. Gifts of up to £250 a person a year, wedding or civil partnership gifts of up to £5,000 to a child, £2,500 to a grandchild and £1,000 to anyone else, and regular gifts out of your income that leave your standard of living unchanged are exempt too. Leave those out of the gifts list. Tick “Use annual exemptions” for the £3,000 a year: the calculator treats each year before death as a tax year, which is a simplification.
How does the 36% charity rate work?
If you leave at least 10% of the “baseline amount” to charity, the rest of the estate is taxed at 36% instead of 40%. The baseline amount is the estate after debts, reliefs and other exemptions, less the nil-rate band you have left (not the residence band), plus the charity gift itself. The calculator shows how much more you would need to leave to reach 10%, and whether your other beneficiaries would end up with more or less.
What about business and agricultural relief?
From 6 April 2026, business and farm property that qualifies gets 100% relief on the first £2.5 million a person, and 50% on anything above. Qualifying shares on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) get 50% relief. Unused relief allowance can pass to a spouse or civil partner, and the tax on qualifying property can be paid in 10 yearly instalments without interest. Whether something qualifies depends on detailed rules, so check with an adviser.
Do pensions count towards the estate?
Not yet. For a death before 6 April 2027, most unused pension pots and death benefits are outside the estate. From that date they count, apart from death-in-service benefits and dependants’ scheme pensions, and a pension left to a spouse or civil partner will still be tax-free. Tick “Work it out for a death from 6 April 2027” to include them; the pensions card shows the difference either way.
When does the tax have to be paid?
Inheritance Tax is due by the end of the sixth month after the death: for a death in March, by 30 September. After that HMRC charges interest, at 7.75% a year from 9 January 2026. Tax on property such as a home or a business can be paid in yearly instalments over 10 years. The executors pay the tax on the estate; tax on a gift is paid by the person who received it.
What doesn’t this calculator cover?
It estimates the tax on one person’s estate under the rules in force now. Inheritance Tax is the same across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so it works anywhere in the UK. It doesn’t cover trusts, gifts with reservation of benefit (such as giving your home away but still living in it rent-free), the 14-year rule for gifts, the downsizing addition to the residence band, a late partner’s unused business relief allowance, or estates with ties abroad. Treat the result as a guide and take advice before acting on it.