Which tax form do I need to use?

When applying for Confirmation, you’ll always need to fill in the Confirmation (C1) form. You might also need to fill in tax forms.

• If the person died before 1 January 2022, you’ll definitely need to fill in either the C5 form or IHT400 tax form. 
• If the person died on or after 1 January 2022, you might need to fill in the IHT400 tax form.

To work out which forms you need to use, you first need to know the approximate value of the estate. You can get help with this in our guide How to value an estate for probate

In this help guide

• Deaths after 1 January 2022: IHT400 form
• Deaths before 1 January 2022: IHT400 or C5 form
  

Deaths on or after 1 January 2022

If the person died on or after 1 January 2022, the Confirmation (C1) form will often be the only form you need to fill in. Sometimes you might need to use the IHT400 form.



IHT400 form: when to fill it in



You will always  need to fill in the IHT400 form if the person died on or after 1 January 2022 and any of the following are true:

• the deceased person had any foreign assets that were worth more than £100,000 on the date of their death
• the deceased person gave away a property but continued to live there without paying rent at the market value
• in the 7 years before their death, the deceased person gave away more than £250,000, to people who weren’t a spouse or civil partner, or to an organisation that wasn’t a charity
• if you are using the Residence Allowance to increase the tax threshold
• the estate is worth more than £3 million If none of these apply, you will not have to fill in the IHT400, as long as:   
• the estate is worth less than £325,000, or
• less than £325,000 of the estate is left to someone other than a surviving spouse, or registered charity 

If the deceased person was widowed and their spouse had left their entire estate to them, this threshold rises from £325,000 to £650,000. You need to claim this within 2 years of the second spouse dying. 

If the estate is over this threshold, you probably need to use the IHT400 form.

However, there can be exceptions to this. For example, if the deceased person benefited from a trust, this will also impact which tax forms need to be filled in.

To find out if you need to complete the IHT400 form, use our IHT400 checker, or for expert advice, book a free call.

You can also read our detailed guide Inheritance Tax and the IHT400 form help guide.

Deaths before 1 January 2022

If the person died before 1 January 2022, you’ll definitely need to fill in either the C5 form or IHT400 tax form, as well as the Confirmation C1 form.

C5 form or IHT400 form?

You will need to fill in the IHT400 form if any of the following are true:

• the Will leaves more than £325,000 in total to people other than their spouse or civil partner, or to an organisation that wasn’t a charity. 
• the deceased person had any foreign assets worth more than £100,000
• the deceased person gave away a property but continued to live there without paying rent at the market value
• in the 7 years before their death, the deceased person gave away more than £150,000 to people other than a spouse or civil partner, or to an organisation that wasn’t a charity
• you are using the Residence Allowance to increase the tax threshold
• the estate is worth more than £1 million
  

If none of these apply, you need to use the C5 tax form.

Claiming a spouse’s allowance

If the person died before 1 January 2022, and had a spouse who died before them, it’s officially too late to be able to claim that spouse’s tax allowance. However, if you’re in this situation, we’d recommend contacting HMRC to ask if you can use it.

Tax forms can be overwhelming. Our support packages are here to help you fill in your tax and Confirmation (C1) forms.

Use our free estate assessment tool to help you work out the best support package for you, or book a free call with one of our probate experts