Do you need a property valuation for probate?
Yes. If the person who died owned a home, or a share of one, you need a realistic open market value for it at the date of death before you can apply for probate. What you do not always need is a paid, formal valuation: HMRC's requirement is a defensible figure, and how you get it depends on how close the estate is to an inheritance tax threshold. Our full guide on whether you need a professional RICS valuation for probate covers that decision in detail; this page covers the whole-estate valuation the property figure slots into. What follows is general information to help you get oriented, not legal or financial advice for your specific situation.
The three steps gov.uk sets out
GOV.UK's guide to valuing an estate breaks the job into three stages, and it warns that the process can take several months for a big or complicated estate:
- Identify the assets and debts. Contact banks, pension providers, insurers and lenders to list everything owned and everything owed.
- Estimate the estate's value. Exact figures for cash and accounts, realistic sale values for property and possessions.
- Report the value. Either the short route on the probate application itself, or full reporting to HMRC on form IHT400 where the rules require it.
The order matters. The valuation has to be finished before the probate application goes in, because the figures you declare determine both the inheritance tax position and which forms you complete.
What counts towards the value
Under gov.uk's estimating guidance, the estate's value is built from three components:
- Assets at the date of death. The home, other property, bank accounts, ISAs, investments, vehicles, jewellery and household contents, all at what they would actually have sold for on that day. For possessions, gov.uk suggests checking what similar items fetch on online marketplaces; our guide to valuing personal possessions for probate goes deeper on chattels.
- Gifts made in the 7 years before death, once they exceed the £3,000 annual exemption. Gifts where the person kept a benefit are included however long ago they were made, the classic example being a parent who gave away the house but carried on living in it rent free.
- Certain trust interests, where the person had a beneficial interest in trust assets.
Debts then come off: the mortgage, loans, credit cards and household bills outstanding at death. The gross figure (before debts) and the net figure (after them) both matter, because different thresholds test different numbers.
Exact figures or estimates?
| Asset | What HMRC expects |
|---|---|
| Bank accounts, ISAs, pensions | Exact date-of-death figures from the provider |
| House or flat | Open market value: agent estimates for straightforward cases, a RICS valuation where the estate is near a threshold |
| Cars, jewellery, contents | Realistic sale values, evidenced by comparable sold prices |
| Shares and investments | Date-of-death prices from the platform or registrar |
A short example. Priya and her brother Daniel are administering their father's estate: a terraced house, two bank accounts and a car. The banks confirm £48,200 to the penny. Two local agents put the house at £280,000 to £290,000, and similar cars are selling for around £6,000. Using £285,000 for the house, the gross estate is about £339,000, close enough to the £325,000 nil-rate band that a formal valuation of the house is worth paying for before they submit anything, because £10,000 either way changes whether inheritance tax and full reporting apply. The UK inheritance tax threshold guide explains how the bands stack up.
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Reporting: short route or full IHT400
Most estates are excepted estates, and for deaths on or after 1 January 2022 there is no separate short form (the old IHT205 was abolished): the values simply go on the probate application. Per gov.uk's check-the-type-of-estate page, an estate is broadly excepted where no tax is due and its value sits below £325,000, below £650,000 with a transferred spouse's allowance, or where everything passes to a UK spouse, civil partner or charity and the estate is under £3 million.
Full reporting on form IHT400, due within 12 months of the death and before the probate application, is needed where tax is payable or where a trigger applies: gifts of more than £250,000 in the 7 years before death, foreign assets over £100,000, an estate worth more than £3 million, or certain trust situations. Any tax itself is due by the end of the sixth month after death to avoid interest. Our excepted estates walkthrough takes you through the boundary case by case, and the wider inheritance tax guide covers what happens when tax is due.
What the application costs
Once the valuation is done, the probate application fee in England and Wales is £526 where the estate is worth more than £5,000; gov.uk's probate fees page confirms there is no fee at all for estates of £5,000 or less. Extra sealed copies of the grant cost £2 each if ordered with the application, but £16 each afterwards, so order enough for every bank and institution up front. For the fuller picture including professional fees, see how much probate costs, or put your own figures into our probate cost calculator for a quick estimate.
When to hand the valuation to a professional
Plenty of executors value a simple estate themselves with nothing more than provider letters and agent estimates. The point to bring in help is when the numbers get close to a threshold, when the estate holds a business, farmland or foreign assets, or when family members are likely to question the figures. A probate specialist can sense-check the valuation, confirm which reporting route applies and take responsibility for the forms, which is often worth it for the executor who signs the statement of truth. If that is where you find yourself, we can put you in touch with a probate professional who handles estate valuations and HMRC reporting day in, day out.