IHT407 is the schedule where you value the household and personal goods the person who died owned on their own: jewellery, cars, boats, antiques, art, collections and everyday contents. Items worth £1,500 or more are listed one by one, everything else goes in as a single total, and the figure is copied to box 55 of form IHT400.
This guide follows Schedule IHT407 and the HMRC IHT400 Notes, as of October 2026.
The six boxes on IHT407
| Box | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| 1, Jewellery | Each individual item valued at £1,500 or more, with its open market value at death |
| 2, Vehicles, boats and aircraft | Cars including vintage and classic, motorcycles, boats and aircraft, with make, model, year, registration, condition and mileage |
| 3, Antiques, works of art or collections | Antique furniture, paintings, sculpture, porcelain, and collections of books, stamps, coins, medals and wines |
| 4, Other household and personal goods | One total for everything else, including jewellery under £1,500 and furniture |
| 5, Insurance question | Whether any box 4 items were individually listed on the household insurance policy |
| 6, Total | All household and personal goods, copied to box 55 of IHT400 |
If you have a professional valuation for anything in boxes 1 to 3, enclose a copy. Goods owned jointly don't go here; they go on Schedule IHT404, grouped in the same categories.
The value HMRC wants is not the insurance value
This is the point most families miss. The Notes say you must use the open market value at the date of death, "not an insurance or replacement value". Open market value is the realistic selling price: what the item would be likely to fetch at auction or if advertised publicly. Replacement cover on a home contents policy is usually a very different number.
HMRC still asks, in box 5, whether items in your box 4 total were individually listed on the household insurance. If they were, you include a copy of the policy and schedule. That gives HMRC a cross-check, so a large gap between a specified insured item and your figure needs a reason, ideally a valuer's report.
When you need a professional valuation
- You don't need one for ordinary household goods where public data lets you estimate the value, such as second-hand car prices.
- If you think an item may be worth more than £1,500, or you aren't sure, HMRC advises getting a professional valuation.
- Tell the valuer you want the open market value at the date of death, not an insurance figure.
Items already sold
If an item has been sold since the death, give the date of sale and the gross sale proceeds. HMRC's manual explains that if something was sold for less than its market value, you still put the full open market value on IHT407. Selling a piece cheaply to a relative doesn't lower the estate.
Giving goods to charity: Schedule IHT408
Families often give clothes and furniture to a charity shop. To deduct Charity Exemption on those goods, the beneficiaries would normally need an instrument of variation. Schedule IHT408 is the shortcut: the beneficiaries who inherited the goods sign a declaration naming the charity, and no instrument of variation is needed.
- All the beneficiaries who inherited the goods complete and sign the declaration.
- For deaths on or after 6 April 2012, send evidence the charity knows it's receiving the goods: an exchange of letters, or a charity shop receipt.
- The donated items are still listed on IHT407, and the exemption is claimed in box 92 of IHT400.
Medals and gallantry awards
The Notes point out that certain awards given to the deceased for gallantry, such as the Victoria Cross, are excluded from Inheritance Tax. Other medals in a collection are valued as part of box 3.
A practical way to work through a house
- Walk the house and pull out anything that might be worth £1,500 or more: rings, watches, paintings, antiques, a collection.
- Note cars, motorbikes, caravans and boats with registration and mileage for box 2.
- Get professional valuations for the box 1 and box 3 items you're unsure about.
- Estimate one sensible total for the ordinary contents in box 4.
- Check the home insurance schedule for individually listed items, and keep a copy for box 5.
Then carry the box 6 total into form IHT400. If any goods were given away during the deceased's lifetime, they belong on IHT403, gifts and other transfers of value, not on this schedule.
Cars, boats and other vehicles
Box 2 asks for more detail than the other boxes. For each vehicle, boat or aircraft you give the manufacturer, model, year of manufacture, registration number or first registration, its condition at the date of death and, for cars, the mileage. If it's been sold, add the date of the sale and the gross proceeds. Vintage and classic cars go here too, and they're the items where a specialist valuation is most likely to be worth paying for.
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For an ordinary second-hand car, the Notes say publicly available data is enough to estimate a value, so you don't need a dealer's written valuation. Use the open market figure for that make, model, age and mileage, not what a new replacement would cost.
The verdict
IHT407 is about honest open market values, not inventories of every teaspoon. Split out the valuable items, value them the way a buyer would, and use IHT408 if the family wants goods to go to charity. That combination keeps the account accurate and avoids the follow-up questions HMRC asks when insured values and declared values don't match.
Frequently asked questions
What is IHT407?
It's the Inheritance Tax schedule for the deceased's household and personal goods, such as jewellery, vehicles, antiques, art, collections and contents, sent with form IHT400.
Which items need to be listed separately on IHT407?
Individual jewellery items valued at £1,500 or more, vehicles, boats and aircraft, and antiques, works of art or collections. Other goods go in one total.
Should I use the insurance value on IHT407?
No. Use the open market value at the date of death, not an insurance or replacement value.
Do I need a professional valuation for household goods?
Not for ordinary goods where you can use public data, but HMRC advises one for any item that may be worth more than £1,500.
Where does the IHT407 total go?
The box 6 total is copied to box 55 of form IHT400.
What if household goods are given to charity?
Beneficiaries can use Schedule IHT408 to claim Charity Exemption without an instrument of variation.
