IHT207, Return of estate information, is the short HMRC Inheritance Tax form for an excepted estate where the person who died lived abroad and left only cash or quoted stocks and shares in the UK, with a gross value under £150,000. It's used as part of the probate process in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, alongside the booklet IHT208. If the estate fails any of its conditions, you stop and fill in the full IHT400 instead.
This guide follows the GOV.UK IHT207 (2006) page, the IHT207 form dated HMRC 04/25 and the IHT208 notes dated HMRC 02/25, as of October 2026. It applies when the person died on or after 1 September 2006, and the residence test changed for deaths from 6 April 2025.
Can you use IHT207?
The IHT208 notes say you can start with IHT207 if all of these are true:
- For a death from 6 April 2025: the person was never a long-term UK resident and never had their permanent home in the UK before 6 April 2025.
- For a death on or before 5 April 2025: they died abroad and always had their permanent home outside the UK.
- Their only UK assets were cash or quoted stocks and shares.
- Those assets were in their own name or jointly owned.
- The gross value of those assets was less than £150,000, as of October 2026.
Gross value means the total of the assets before any debts are taken off. It's a different form from IHT205, which has its own guide.
What long-term UK resident means
From 6 April 2025, someone is a long-term UK resident if they were resident in the UK for at least 10 of the last 20 tax years before the tax year of the death. Someone who was a long-term resident and then left stays in scope for Inheritance Tax for a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 10, depending on how long they lived in the UK.
The stop questions
The form is built to stop you early if the short route doesn't fit. You must switch to IHT400 if you answer yes to any of these:
- Question 2: for a death on or after 6 April 2025, were they a long-term UK resident at any time after 6 April 2025?
- Question 3: did they have their permanent home in the UK at any time before 6 April 2025?
- Question 4: were they receiving any benefit from assets held by UK resident trustees?
- Question 5: did they make any gifts of UK assets within the 7 years before they died?
Question 6 asks about jointly owned assets. A yes there doesn't stop you, but you describe the assets and their value in box 7.
Filling in the figures
| Box | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| 8.1 | Cash, including bank and building society accounts |
| 8.2 | Stocks and shares quoted on the Stock Exchange |
| 8.3 | Assets held as tenants in common |
| A | Total UK estate for which a grant is needed |
| 8.4 and B | Share of joint assets passing automatically to the surviving joint owner |
| C | Gross UK estate for Inheritance Tax, A plus B |
| 9.1 to F | UK debts owed by the person, plus their share of debts payable from joint UK assets |
| G | Net UK estate for Inheritance Tax, C minus F |
You have to give the gross value of each item and make full enquiries so you can show the figures are right. If you can't find a value, you can use your best estimate and tick the box to show it's an estimate. The IHT208 notes include an annex on valuing quoted shares.
If the figures change later
If you find something was left out, or the figures change so that box G goes over £150,000, you must list the new and changed items on a Corrective Account, form C4, and send it to HMRC with a copy of the IHT207. The declaration also warns that you may face penalties if you don't deliver a Corrective Account within 6 months of finding out the estate doesn't qualify as excepted.
The form adds a plain warning: the grant being issued doesn't mean no Inheritance Tax is due.
Where IHT207 goes
In England and Wales, IHT207 goes with the probate forms to HMCTS Probate rather than to HMRC. When you've finished it and any other forms the Probate Service needs, they all go there, with booklet PA2 explaining that route. In Northern Ireland they go to the Probate and Matrimonial Office in Belfast or the District Probate Registry in Londonderry. If you need to write to HMRC's Inheritance Tax office, the notes give the address as BX9 1HT.
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The inheritance tax reference application guide walks through a different form and the deadlines that come with it.
When you need IHT400 instead
If there's tax to pay, or the estate doesn't meet the conditions, you need the formal account, IHT400. That includes any UK property other than cash and quoted shares, a UK estate at or over the limit, gifts of UK assets in the last 7 years, a benefit from UK trusts, or a long-term UK residence or UK domicile link.
The verdict
IHT207 is the short route for a narrow case: someone who lived abroad, left only cash or listed shares in the UK, and stayed under £150,000. Work through questions 2 to 5 first, because a single yes sends you to IHT400. If you get through them, the rest is a few figures, a signature from each person applying and the IHT208 notes beside you.
Tax rules change from year to year, so our trust exit charge return explainer is a useful reference.
Frequently asked questions
What is IHT207?
It's HMRC's short Inheritance Tax return of estate information for an excepted estate where the person lived abroad and left only cash or quoted shares in the UK under £150,000.
Who can't use IHT207?
Anyone whose estate fails the conditions, including a long-term UK resident or someone UK domiciled before 6 April 2025, gifts of UK assets within 7 years, or a benefit from UK trusts. They use IHT400.
What is the limit for IHT207?
As of October 2026 the gross value of the UK cash and quoted stocks and shares has to be less than £150,000.
What are the IHT207 notes called?
The notes are booklet IHT208, Notes to help you fill in form IHT207.
What if the estate value changes after IHT207?
If box G goes over £150,000 or something was left out, you send a Corrective Account on form C4 with a copy of the IHT207.
