How to cover an inheritance tax bill
Enter the bill, or the estate, to see when inheritance tax is due, what can be spread over 10 years, and how much the estate's own cash can pay before probate.
Your answer
Enter the estate's value to see when the tax is due and how to pay it.
About this calculator
For executors working out how to pay an inheritance tax bill, and for anyone planning so their family isn't caught short.
Most of the bill usually has to be paid before probate is granted, often before the house can be sold. This shows what's due, when, and where the money can come from.
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How it’s worked out
Inheritance tax is due by the end of the sixth month after death: die in January, pay by 31 July. After that, HMRC charges interest every day at its late payment rate. The bank, savings and investment accounts in the person's name can pay HMRC directly, before probate (the Direct Payment Scheme), and so can government stock.
Tax on houses, land and buildings, and on business or farm assets, can be paid in 10 equal yearly instalments, the first on the due date. On houses and land, each later instalment carries interest on what's still owed. On business or farm assets that qualify for relief, it's interest-free. We share the bill across the estate by value to see how much can be spread.
Worked example
Pay £91,000 of inheritance tax by 31 July 2026 to avoid interest.
Died January 2026 · bill estimated · 10 yearly instalments · interest at 7.8% throughout · no gifts in the last 7 years
| Everything the person owned, less debts | £1,200,000 |
|---|---|
| Less the tax-free amount | − £325,000 |
| Less the extra allowance for a home going to children or grandchildren | − £175,000 |
| Taxed at 40% | £700,000 |
| Estimated inheritance tax bill | £280,000 |
| Tax on houses, land and buildings: £280,000 × £900,000 ÷ £1,200,000 (the estate after relief) | £210,000 |
| Tax on everything else (cash, savings, belongings) | £70,000 |
| Due by the end of the sixth month after death (January 2026) | 31 July 2026 |
| First of 10 yearly instalments on houses, land and buildings | £21,000 |
| Plus the tax on everything else, in full | £70,000 |
| To pay by 31 July 2026 | £91,000 |
| Less paid straight from the person's bank, savings and investments, before probate (Direct Payment Scheme) | − £91,000 |
| Left for the family or executors to find | £0 |
| If paid 6 months late (31 January 2027): £91,000.00 × 7.8% × 184 ÷ 365 days | + £3,555.23 |
| Instalment 2, 31 July 2027: £21,000 + interest £189,000 × 7.8% × 365 ÷ 365 days | £35,648 |
| Instalment 3, 31 July 2028: £21,000 + interest £168,000 × 7.8% × 366 ÷ 365 days | £34,056 |
| Instalment 4, 31 July 2029: £21,000 + interest £147,000 × 7.8% × 365 ÷ 365 days | £32,393 |
| Instalment 5, 31 July 2030: £21,000 + interest £126,000 × 7.8% × 365 ÷ 365 days | £30,765 |
| Instalment 6, 31 July 2031: £21,000 + interest £105,000 × 7.8% × 365 ÷ 365 days | £29,138 |
| Instalment 7, 31 July 2032: £21,000 + interest £84,000 × 7.8% × 366 ÷ 365 days | £27,528 |
| Instalment 8, 31 July 2033: £21,000 + interest £63,000 × 7.8% × 365 ÷ 365 days | £25,883 |
| Instalment 9, 31 July 2034: £21,000 + interest £42,000 × 7.8% × 365 ÷ 365 days | £24,255 |
| Instalment 10, 31 July 2035: £21,000 + interest £21,000 × 7.8% × 365 ÷ 365 days | £22,628 |
| Total paid over 10 years, with £73,291 interest | £353,291 |
Worked out using HMRC's inheritance tax rules, its yearly instalment rules and its late payment interest rate.
Questions people ask
Do we have to pay inheritance tax before probate?
Usually some of it. HMRC sends the code you need to apply for probate once payments have started. The person's own bank and savings accounts can pay HMRC directly before probate, and with instalments only the first one is due.
Can we pay inheritance tax in instalments?
On houses, land and buildings, and business or farm assets, yes: over 10 years. If the asset is sold, the rest of its tax is due straight away.
Does life insurance help pay the bill?
Insurance written in trust pays out to the people named, outside the estate and without waiting for probate, so they can use it towards the tax.
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