IHT403 is the HMRC schedule for gifts and other transfers of value, sent with the full Inheritance Tax account, form IHT400. It's where the executor lists gifts the person who died made on or after 18 March 1986 that might add to the estate, mainly gifts in the 7 years before death. Gifts of £3,000 or less in a tax year, small gifts of £250 or less and gifts to a spouse or civil partner aren't listed.
This page uses the current IHT403 (HMRC 06/26) and HMRC's gifts guidance, all as of October 2026.
When you need IHT403
You fill it in alongside form IHT400 if the person gave away or transferred any assets, such as cash, property or land. Page 1 asks six yes or no questions, and a Yes to any of them means giving details on the pages that follow:
- Did they make gifts or transfer assets to a person, charity or organisation?
- Did they create a trust or settlement?
- Did they add assets to an existing trust?
- Did they pay premiums on a life policy for someone other than themselves or their spouse or civil partner?
- Did a trust interest they benefited from come to an end during their lifetime?
- Are you claiming gifts were exempt as normal expenditure out of income?
Gifts you can leave off the form
| Gift | Why it's left off |
|---|---|
| Gifts totalling £3,000 or less in a tax year | Covered by the annual exemption; any unused part can be carried forward one tax year |
| Small gifts of £250 or less | The small gift allowance, if no other allowance was used on the same person |
| Gifts to a spouse or civil partner | Exempt, as long as they lived in the UK permanently |
Wedding and civil partnership gifts have their own limits under HMRC guidance: up to £5,000 to a child, £2,500 to a grandchild or great-grandchild and £1,000 to anyone else.
The 7-year rule and taper relief
No tax is due on a gift if the person lived for 7 years after giving it, unless the gift went into a trust. If they died sooner and the gifts in the last 7 years came to more than the £325,000 threshold, tax may be due, on a sliding scale:
| Years between gift and death | Rate of tax on the gift |
|---|---|
| Less than 3 years | 40% |
| 3 to 4 years | 32% |
| 4 to 5 years | 24% |
| 5 to 6 years | 16% |
| 6 to 7 years | 8% |
| 7 or more | No tax |
Don't deduct taper relief on IHT403 itself. The form says HMRC will send separate calculations and include any taper relief due.
The April 2026 change printed on the form
This is the part older guides miss. For deaths on and after 6 April 2026, 100% Agricultural Relief and Business Relief on the combined value of qualifying property is limited to £2.5 million. That cap includes qualifying gifts made on or after 30 October 2024 within 7 years of death, and anything above £2.5 million gets 50% relief. Unused allowance from a late spouse or civil partner can be transferred if it's claimed in time, and shares on markets HMRC doesn't treat as listed, such as AIM, now only qualify for 50% relief.
How to fill in the gifts table
Box 7 on pages 3 and 4 is the main table. For each gift in the 7 years before death you enter:
- the date of the gift
- who received it and their relationship to the person, such as son, daughter or business partner
- what was given, for example cash, the address of a house or the number of shares in a company
- any exemption or relief claimed, such as charity exemption, Agricultural Relief or Business Relief
- the value at the date of the gift and the exemptions or reliefs deducted, without taper relief
If you're deducting charity exemption, give the charity's full name, country and HMRC charities reference if you have it. The total of the net values is copied onto the IHT400.
Gifts with reservation and pre-owned assets
Pages 5 and 6 catch gifts that weren't clean gifts. If the person gave something away but kept using it or benefiting from it, it's a gift with reservation of benefit, and it counts as part of the estate whenever it was given. The form asks specifically about houses and land where they, or their spouse or civil partner, kept a right to live there or had an arrangement such as a lease or trust. A separate section covers pre-owned assets where they paid Income Tax on the benefit or chose the Inheritance Tax route instead.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Who pays tax on the gifts
If tax is due on a gift, the recipient is liable to pay. A year after the death, the executors or administrators become jointly liable too. HMRC can only talk to you about the gifts if the recipients have authorised you, so the form asks for their contact details if they haven't.
Claiming gifts out of income
Page 8 is for regular gifts made from surplus income, which can be exempt without limit if they left the person enough to live on. You show their income and spending for each tax year the gifts were made, with lines for pensions, investments and rent against household bills, council tax, holidays and nursing home fees. Bank statements make this page far easier.
The verdict
IHT403 rewards a methodical approach: list every gift from the 7 years before death in date order, strip out the exempt ones, and look hard at anything the person kept using. For deaths from 6 April 2026, check business and farm gifts against the £2.5 million cap before you assume full relief. If the estate also used a late spouse's threshold, that claim goes on IHT402.
Frequently asked questions
What is IHT403 used for?
It's the schedule used with form IHT400 to tell HMRC about gifts and other transfers of value the deceased made on or after 18 March 1986.
Which gifts don't go on IHT403?
Gifts totalling £3,000 or less in any tax year, small gifts of £250 or less and gifts to a spouse or civil partner.
Do I deduct taper relief on IHT403?
No. The form says not to deduct it; HMRC sends separate calculations including any taper relief due.
Who pays Inheritance Tax on gifts?
The people who received the gifts are liable, and a year after the death the executors or administrators become jointly liable.
What changed on IHT403 in 2026?
For deaths on and after 6 April 2026, 100% Agricultural and Business Relief is limited to £2.5 million of qualifying property, with 50% relief above that.
