UK Bereavement Financial Process 2026/27

UK bereavement 2026/27 - registering the death, Tell Us Once, probate, Inheritance Tax deadlines, pension death benefits and Bereavement Support Payment.

2026/27 tax year

Benefits & Credits
Personal
England
Wales

The steps below follow the rules for England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different registration and estate processes; Inheritance Tax and the pension rules apply across the UK.

The first weeks

Register the death within 5 days of the medical examiner's office confirming you can (8 days in Scotland). This includes weekends and bank holidays.
Order certified copies of the death certificate - banks, pension schemes and insurers usually ask for one.
Use Tell Us Once (England, Scotland and Wales) to notify HMRC, DWP, the Passport Office, DVLA, the council and others.
Notify the employer and any private pension provider.
Find the will and the executors.
Arrange the funeral.
Claim Bereavement Support Payment if eligible - within 3 months to get the full amount.

The following months

Value the estate and check whether Inheritance Tax is due.
Pay any Inheritance Tax by the end of the sixth month after the death (interest runs after that).
Send IHT400 within 12 months if needed, and before applying for probate.
Apply for probate if required.
Notify banks and close or transfer accounts.
Claim life insurance and pension death benefits.
Pay debts and bills, then distribute the estate under the will or intestacy rules.
Settle the deceased's Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax position with HMRC.

Key contacts

HMRC Bereavement Helpline (Income Tax, CGT and the estate): 0300 322 9620
HMRC Inheritance Tax helpline: 0300 123 1072
DWP Bereavement Service (Bereavement Support Payment): 0800 151 2012
Tell Us Once: via the registrar when you register the death
Probate: gov.uk/applying-for-probate

Pension death benefits decision

If you are a beneficiary of pension death benefits, how you take them affects tax:

Lump sum: if the pension owner died under 75, usually tax-free up to their lump sum and death benefit allowance; if they died at 75 or over, taxed as your income
Beneficiary drawdown: leave the fund invested and draw from it
Annuity: buy a guaranteed income

For deaths on or after 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits count towards the estate for Inheritance Tax, with personal representatives responsible for reporting and paying it (per the HMRC policy paper). Death-in-service benefits are excluded.

Frequently asked questions

What is "Tell Us Once" and how does it work?

A free government service that reports a death to most government organisations in one go. The registrar explains it when you register the death and either completes it with you or gives you a reference number to use online or by phone within 28 days. It notifies HMRC, DWP, the Passport Office, DVLA, the local council, Veterans UK and Social Security Scotland. You can use it if the person lived in England, Scotland or Wales; it is not available if they lived in Northern Ireland.

Do I need probate?

Not always. GOV.UK says each bank or organisation has its own rules, so contact them to find out. You may not need probate if the person only had savings, or owned money, shares or property jointly with others (jointly owned property held as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving owner). Probate is a Grant of Probate where there is a will and Letters of Administration where there is not. These are the England and Wales rules; Scotland (confirmation) and Northern Ireland have their own processes.

What is the Inheritance Tax process?

Inheritance Tax must be paid by the end of the sixth month after the death (for a January death, by 31 July). If tax is due, or full details are needed, the executor sends form IHT400 within 12 months of the death and before applying for probate. Most estates are excepted estates, which do not need full details. The nil-rate band is £325,000 and the residence nil-rate band up to £175,000 (tapered away above £2,000,000), so a married couple or civil partners can pass on up to £1,000,000 where both allowances are fully available. Tax above the threshold is 40%, or 36% if at least 10% of the net estate goes to charity. HMRC Inheritance Tax helpline: 0300 123 1072.

How do pension death benefits work?

It depends on the scheme and the age of the person who died. GOV.UK says most lump sums paid when the pension owner died under 75 are tax-free unless they exceed the owner's lump sum and death benefit allowance (£1,073,100 standard); if they died at 75 or over, Income Tax is deducted by the provider. From 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds and death benefits are brought into the estate for Inheritance Tax; death-in-service benefits and dependants' scheme pensions from defined benefit schemes are excluded.

What is Bereavement Support Payment?

A DWP payment for people under State Pension age whose husband, wife, civil partner, or partner they lived with, died. The higher rate is £3,500 plus 18 monthly payments of £350; the lower rate is £2,500 plus 18 monthly payments of £100. The higher rate applies if you were getting Child Benefit or were pregnant; if you lived together without marrying, one of those must have applied. Your partner must have paid enough Class 1 or Class 2 National Insurance in any one tax year since 6 April 1975, or died because of an accident at work or a work-caused disease. Claim within 3 months to get the full amount.

What happens to a joint mortgage on death?

If the home was owned as joint tenants, the surviving owner takes the deceased's share automatically; if as tenants in common, the share passes under the will or intestacy rules. The mortgage debt does not disappear: tell the lender promptly, and check whether a life or mortgage protection policy will pay it off.

How long does the financial process take?

There is no fixed timetable; it depends on the estate. The fixed points are the deadlines: Inheritance Tax is due by the end of the sixth month after the death, and IHT400 (where needed) must be sent within 12 months and before applying for probate. Complex estates with property, businesses or tax to pay take longer.

Can I access the deceased's accounts before probate?

It depends on the bank. Each organisation sets its own rules on whether it will release money without a grant of probate, so ask each one. Money in joint accounts usually passes to the surviving owner automatically.

What about the deceased's tax position?

The personal representative deals with the Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax the person owed up to the date of death, and with tax on income the estate receives while it is being administered. HMRC's Bereavement Helpline (0300 322 9620) handles both. Where an estate return is needed it is the Trust and Estate Tax Return (SA900); form R185 (Estate Income) is the statement the personal representative gives beneficiaries about income paid to them from the estate.