Inheritance Tax in Northern Ireland: Thresholds, Deadlines, and the NIPF7 Form

Inheritance tax in Northern Ireland is a UK tax, governed by the same legislation and administered by the same authority — HMRC — as in England, Scotland, and Wales. The rates and thresholds are identical across the UK. What differs in Northern Ireland is the form you use to report the estate and the process for submitting it to the Probate Office in Belfast.

Getting this wrong has real financial consequences. Miss the payment deadline and HMRC charges daily interest on the outstanding tax bill. Use the wrong reporting form and the Probate Office will reject your application.

What Is the Inheritance Tax Threshold?

Inheritance tax applies to the taxable estate at a rate of 40% on the amount above the nil-rate band threshold. The standard nil-rate band is currently £325,000. Everything above that amount is taxable at 40%.

In practice, many estates pay little or no inheritance tax because of exemptions and reliefs that reduce the taxable value:

The spouse exemption: Assets passing to a surviving spouse or civil partner are entirely exempt from inheritance tax, regardless of value. There is no limit. If the estate passes entirely to a spouse, no IHT is payable and the nil-rate band is unused.

The transferable nil-rate band: When a spouse or civil partner dies and their nil-rate band was unused (or partly unused) at the first death, it can be transferred to the surviving spouse's estate. This means many married couples effectively have a combined threshold of £650,000 before any tax applies.

The residence nil-rate band (RNRB): An additional threshold of £175,000 currently applies when a residential property is left to direct descendants (children, grandchildren). Combined with the standard nil-rate band, a single person leaving their home to children can shelter up to £500,000. A couple can shelter up to £1,000,000. The RNRB phases out progressively for estates above £2,000,000.

The charity exemption: Gifts to qualifying charities are fully exempt. If 10% or more of the net estate goes to charity, the rate on the taxable residue reduces from 40% to 36%.

Business and agricultural relief: Family businesses and agricultural property qualify for significant reductions — often 50% or 100% relief on qualifying assets.

Northern Ireland-Specific Reporting: The NIPF7 Form

Before 1 January 2022, executors in Northern Ireland used the same HMRC form as elsewhere in the UK — the IHT205 — to report excepted estates (those below the IHT threshold). That has changed.

For deaths occurring on or after 1 January 2022, excepted estates in Northern Ireland use the Estate Summary Form NIPF7 instead of IHT205. The NIPF7 is submitted as part of the probate application to the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS). You do not send it to HMRC directly.

The NIPF7 captures the estate's asset and liability information so the court can assess whether probate is granted on an excepted basis. Errors in the arithmetic — miscalculating gross or net estate values — are a common reason for court rejection.

An estate is "excepted" (not required to pay IHT) if it falls below the relevant threshold after applying reliefs and exemptions. If you're not certain whether your estate qualifies as excepted, treat it as non-excepted and use the full IHT400.

When Inheritance Tax Is Actually Owed: The IHT400

If the estate is above the threshold after reliefs, or if HMRC decides to investigate further, the full HMRC IHT400 is required. Unlike the NIPF7, the IHT400 goes to HMRC — not just the Probate Office. It is a much more detailed document requiring a full asset-by-asset breakdown, valuation evidence, and details of all gifts made in the seven years before death.

Gifts made in the seven years before death can pull back into the estate for IHT purposes. The tax on these "potentially exempt transfers" tapers down over the seven years: a gift made within three years of death is fully taxable; by year seven it falls out of the estate entirely. If the deceased was generous with gifts in later life, this calculation becomes material.

To pay IHT before probate is granted (which is required to open most accounts), HMRC provides a facility to generate a payment reference number in advance. This allows tax to be paid directly from the deceased's bank account before the estate is formally unlocked. Banks in Northern Ireland will typically cooperate with a tax payment made this way.

The 6-Month Deadline

Inheritance tax must be paid within six months from the end of the month of death. If someone died in March 2026, the IHT payment is due by 30 September 2026.

This deadline runs regardless of whether probate has been granted. If your application is delayed — whether because of complications with the estate valuation, the probate queue, or family circumstances — the tax clock does not pause. HMRC applies daily interest from the deadline date on any outstanding amount.

For large estates where IHT is owed, planning the payment early is essential. Executors can apply for HMRC's "instalment option" for certain illiquid assets like land, property, or shares in private companies — allowing payment in ten annual instalments rather than one lump sum. Interest still accrues on the outstanding balance.

Common Misconceptions About Inheritance Tax in Northern Ireland

"There's no inheritance tax in Northern Ireland because it's a devolved matter." Incorrect. Inheritance tax is a reserved matter under the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and remains entirely within Westminster's jurisdiction. The rates and thresholds are the same as in England, Scotland, and Wales.

"The intestacy statutory legacy of £250,000 is the inheritance tax threshold." These are different figures governing different things. The £250,000 (or £450,000 for a childless spouse) is the amount reserved for the surviving spouse under intestacy law — the Administration of Estates Act (Northern Ireland) 1955. The £325,000 nil-rate band is the inheritance tax threshold. They operate independently.

"If the estate passes to my spouse, there's no need to do any IHT paperwork." Partly true, but an excepted estate still requires the NIPF7 form as part of the probate application. You do not simply skip the tax reporting step.

"IHT is paid from the estate after probate." In practice, tax must be paid before a grant can issue — which creates a timing problem because the estate's bank accounts are frozen until probate is granted. The solution is to use HMRC's pre-grant payment facility, or to use assets that pass outside probate (like jointly held accounts or life insurance written in trust) to fund the tax payment.

Inheritance Tax and Cross-Border Estates

If the deceased owned property or assets in the Republic of Ireland as well as in Northern Ireland, the tax position becomes significantly more complex. UK Inheritance Tax applies to the Northern Irish assets (and to worldwide assets if the deceased was UK-domiciled). Republic of Ireland Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) applies to Irish assets — but unlike IHT, which the estate pays, CAT is a tax on the beneficiary, not the estate itself.

The two taxes can overlap. There are double taxation relief provisions, but applying them requires careful sequencing and often specialist advice from practitioners qualified in both jurisdictions.

Understanding which forms apply, when tax is due, and how the various reliefs interact is one of the more technically demanding parts of settling an estate in Northern Ireland. The complete estate settlement guide at /uk/northern-ireland/estate-settlement/ walks through the NIPF7 form in plain English, explains the IHT400 triggers, and includes a tax deadline tracker so nothing is missed.

See more Northern Ireland guides →