Enter what the person owned, their home and debts, and what goes to a spouse or charity to estimate the inheritance tax on the estate, with transfers from a late spouse, gifts in the last 7 years, farm and business relief and unused pensions from April 2027.
How to use the inheritance tax calculator
- Choose the date of death: unused pensions count from 6 April 2027.
- Enter everything owned, the home's value, debts and funeral costs, and anything left to a spouse or charity.
- Open the extra section for a late spouse's unused bands, recent gifts, business or farm property and pensions, then read the tax.
Worked example
A single person leaves £700,000, including a £400,000 home that goes to their children. The nil rate band covers £325,000 and the residence band £175,000, leaving £200,000 taxed at 40%: £80,000. A widow with the same estate whose husband left everything to her has £1,000,000 of bands, so no tax. Without a home going to descendants, a £600,000 estate pays £110,000, or £88,200 at 36% if £30,000 goes to charity.
Inheritance tax in 2026/27
- Nil rate band £325,000; residence nil rate band £175,000; both transferable to a spouse
- Residence band tapered above £2,000,000
- Rate 40%, or 36% with at least 10% to charity
- Farm and business relief: 100% up to £2.5 million, 50% above (from 6 April 2026)
- Unused pensions in the estate from 6 April 2027
Sources: HM Revenue & Customs inheritance tax guidance and manual (IHTM), GOV.UK policy papers on the thresholds from 6 April 2026, agricultural and business relief, and unused pension funds. Everything runs in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
What is the inheritance tax threshold for 2026/27?
£325,000 (the nil rate band), plus £175,000 more (the residence nil rate band) when a home goes to children or grandchildren: £500,000 in all for one person. The nil rate band has been £325,000 since 2009 and the residence band £175,000 since 2020.
How much is inheritance tax?
40% of the estate above the tax-free bands. If at least 10% of the estate, after the nil rate band, is left to charity, the rate falls to 36%. Gifts to a spouse or civil partner and to charity are tax-free.
Can a married couple leave £1 million tax-free?
Yes. Whatever part of the nil rate band and residence band the first partner to die didn't use passes to the survivor, so a widow or widower whose spouse left everything to them can have £650,000 plus £350,000, as long as the home goes to their children or grandchildren.
What is the £2 million taper?
The residence nil rate band is reduced by £1 for every £2 the estate (after debts, before reliefs and exemptions) is over £2 million. It's gone at £2.35 million for one person, or £2.7 million with a transferred band.
Do gifts count for inheritance tax?
Gifts made more than 7 years before death are outside the estate. Gifts in the last 7 years above the exemptions, such as £3,000 a year, are added back and use up the nil rate band first. If they're more than the nil rate band, tax on the gifts themselves can be reduced for gifts made 3 to 7 years before death.
What changes for farms, businesses and pensions?
From 6 April 2026, agricultural and business relief is 100% on the first £2.5 million of qualifying property and 50% above that, and an unused allowance can pass to a spouse. From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits count as part of the estate; death in service benefits and pensions left to a spouse are excluded.
