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Inheritance tax calculator

Explore an estate estimate using the assumptions and exclusions below.

2026/27Free · No email required

Your figures

How it works & sources ↓
Scope and assumptions

Estimate your inheritance tax now, and under the rules that bring unused pensions into your estate from April 2027. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Not modelled: the spouse or civil partner exemption on the first death, trusts, business or agricultural property (including the £2.5m combined APR and BPR relief allowance that applies from 6 April 2026), gifts made in the last 7 years, foreign assets, and the downsizing addition where a home was sold or given away on or after 8 July 2015. The 10% charity test is applied to your estate as a single component; the legislation tests the survivorship, settled property and general components separately, so a will needs checking against the statutory formula. A gift to charity is treated as coming out of your other assets rather than out of your home, and in the 2027 column it can come out of the estate as a whole, including unused pensions; whether a pension death benefit can pass to a charity depends on the scheme rules and on your nomination. Estimates only. Both columns use the 2026/27 thresholds, which are held at those levels to 5 April 2031. Figures checked 23 September 2026. Sources: GOV.UK: Inheritance Tax, GOV.UK: residence nil rate band, GOV.UK: Inheritance Tax thresholds and HMRC's pensions technical note. This is general information, not advice. Your position depends on your circumstances. Speak to us before acting.

The married option applies your own allowances and does not deduct spouse or civil partner exemption. Transfers to a spouse or civil partner are usually exempt, but the exemption can be restricted where the deceased was a long-term UK resident and the recipient is not. To model the second death with full unused allowances from the first death, choose "Widowed" and enter the survivor’s estate. A claim is required; do not assume both allowances transfer in full.

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Enter it here, not below. A mortgage reduces the value of the home the residence nil-rate band is measured against.

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Enter unused defined contribution pension funds currently outside your estate that will be included from 6 April 2027. Put pension benefits already subject to Inheritance Tax in Other assets instead, so they appear in both columns. Leave out benefits excluded in both periods, such as qualifying death-in-service benefits and dependants’ scheme pensions. The future column assumes no spouse exemption on these pensions.

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Qualifying descendants include children, grandchildren and other lineal descendants; adopted, step and foster children can qualify too. Certain spouses or civil partners of descendants also qualify. Nieces, nephews and siblings do not. The tick assumes your entire net home share passes to qualifying descendants; mixed inheritances need the qualifying share worked out separately.

Today (2026/27)

Deaths on or after 6 April 2027

This calculator estimates the inheritance tax on your estate using 2026/27 thresholds: a £325,000 nil-rate band (2026/27, frozen to 5 April 2031), a £175,000 residence nil-rate band (2026/27, frozen to 5 April 2031) where your home passes to children or grandchildren, and tax at 40%, or 36% if you leave 10% or more of your net estate to charity. It gives you two answers side by side: your position today, and your position for deaths on or after 6 April 2027, when unused pension pots join the taxable estate under Finance Act 2026.
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Vision Consulting is a London firm of ICAEW Chartered Accountants, licensed by the ICAEW for non-contentious probate.

How to use it

  • Enter your share of your home, its secured mortgage, other assets and other debts. Pension benefits already within your estate belong in Other assets. Use the pension box only for unused funds currently outside your estate that enter the Inheritance Tax calculation from 6 April 2027. Tick the boxes that apply, and if you are leaving a gift to charity, enter the amount.
  • If you are widowed and your late spouse or civil partner left everything to you, choose the widowed option: both allowances can double, to £650,000 and £350,000 (2026/27).
  • Press the button and read both columns.
  • No figures leave your browser.

Why there are two columns

Finance Act 2026 (Royal Assent 18 March 2026) brings unused pension funds and death benefits into the inheritance tax estate for deaths on or after 6 April 2027, with personal representatives responsible for reporting and paying. The second column shows the effect of adding the pension amount entered to the estate, with the same other inputs. Source: HMRC's technical note on inheritance tax and pensions, on GOV.UK.

What the calculator assumes, and what it leaves out

It applies the residence nil-rate band only where the home passes to direct descendants, caps it at the value of the home after any mortgage secured on it, tapers it by £1 for every £2 the net estate exceeds £2 million, and tests a charitable gift against the 10% rule before applying the 36% rate. It does not model:
  • Trusts.
  • Business or agricultural property (including the £2.5 million APR/BPR relief allowance that applies from 6 April 2026).
  • Gifts made in the last 7 years.
  • Foreign assets. If any of those apply to you, the real answer can be very different.
  • Figures are correct as at 23 September 2026; the authority is GOV.UK: Inheritance Tax.

Frequently asked questions

How does the transferred nil-rate band work if I am widowed?

Whatever percentage of the £325,000 nil-rate band (2026/27) your late spouse or civil partner did not use can be transferred to your estate, up to a maximum of 100%, giving up to £650,000. The same applies to the £175,000 residence nil-rate band, giving up to £350,000. Your executors claim the transfer after your death. This calculator assumes a full 100% transfer of each allowance when you pick the widowed option. The percentages can differ. In particular, a first estate over £2 million can reduce the residence allowance available to transfer, even if everything passed to the spouse. A partial transfer needs a manual calculation.

Why does my residence nil-rate band shrink on larger estates?

The residence nil-rate band tapers away by £1 for every £2 your net estate exceeds £2 million. A single person's £175,000 (2026/27) is fully gone at about £2.35 million. From 6 April 2027 unused pensions count toward that estate value, so a pension can taper away an allowance the house had previously secured.

What exactly changes on 6 April 2027?

For deaths on or after 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits form part of the estate for inheritance tax (Finance Act 2026). Personal representatives, not pension scheme administrators, are responsible for reporting and paying the tax. Death-in-service benefits and dependants' scheme pensions are among the exclusions; the detail sits in HMRC's technical note on inheritance tax and pensions.

How does the 36% charity rate work?

If you leave at least 10% of the baseline amount to UK charity, the rest of the taxable estate is charged at 36% instead of 40%. The baseline amount is broadly your estate less the nil-rate band, before the residence nil-rate band, with the gift itself added back. Enter the gift in the calculator and it tests the 10% rule for you rather than assuming it is met. The legislation tests each component of an estate separately, so a will still needs checking against the statutory formula.

Do gifts I have already made affect this result?

Yes, and the calculator deliberately does not model them. Gifts within 7 years of death can use up your nil-rate band before the estate gets it, and gifts over the nil-rate band attract their own tapered tax charge. Keep a record of what you give and when, and take advice if you have made substantial gifts.

Method and official sources

Read the calculation guidance above alongside the official sources. Check the scope and assumptions before using your result.

Vision Consulting · Chartered Accountants

Last updated 23 September 2026

Tax assumptions: 2026/27 · Sources checked 23 September 2026

This is an estimate for general information, not advice. Your position depends on your circumstances. Speak to us before acting.