Where there is inheritance tax to pay, you normally have to pay it, or at least start paying it, before you can get the grant of probate, and the tax is due by the end of the sixth month after the month of death.
You need the grant of probate before most banks and building societies will release the deceased’s accounts, and the grant will not be issued until the inheritance tax has been paid or arranged. The money sits behind one door, and the key to that door sits behind another.
If you are the executor and have just discovered this, I understand why it reads like a circle drawn to trip you. It is not, and there are several established routes out of it.
Why the tax comes before the grant
Probate is the court’s confirmation that you are allowed to gather in the estate and distribute it. HMRC does not wait for that to finish before it asks for its money. Inheritance tax is charged on the value of the estate at the date of death, so it falls due whether or not the assets are easy to reach.
Two bodies are involved: HMRC collects the tax, and the probate registry issues the grant. HMRC’s guidance puts it plainly, that you usually need to make a payment towards any inheritance tax due before you can get a grant of representation.
Routes exist for exactly this, and none of the main ones need the grant in place first. While you wait, the estate’s ordinary bills still need paying, and I have covered how to keep up with those while probate is pending separately.
When inheritance tax is due
The tax is due by the end of the sixth month after the month in which the person died. A death in March means the tax is due at the end of September, and HMRC’s guidance states the deadline in exactly those terms. After that date HMRC charges interest on whatever is still unpaid, at a rate that changes over time, so I will not quote one that could be out of date by the time you read this.
Where inheritance tax is owed, HMRC gives you twelve months to report the estate’s value on form IHT400, and you cannot apply for probate until you have done that.
Most executors cannot wait for a complete picture of the estate before they settle. HMRC allows for that: you can pay before you know the exact figure, which it calls making payments on account, and correct it once the final valuation is done.
How to pay inheritance tax before probate
There are five established routes, and most estates use more than one. I have listed them in the order executors usually reach for them.
1. The Direct Payment Scheme (form IHT423). Start here, because it solves the catch-22 directly. Banks, building societies and investment providers that belong to the scheme can pay HMRC straight from the deceased’s accounts, without the money ever passing through your hands. You complete form IHT423 and the provider transfers the amount, and HMRC is explicit that you can start this before you have probate.
National Savings and Investments is named in that guidance too, so NS&I holdings go through the same route. Not every provider takes part, so ask yours early (that one call saves more executors more time than anything else on this page).
2. Paying from the deceased’s own accounts. Beyond the formal scheme, HMRC accepts payment from the deceased’s bank, savings and investment accounts and from government stock. You can also pay from your own account, or from a joint account you held with the deceased, and reclaim it from the estate once the grant is issued.
3. Instalments on property and business assets. Not everything has to be paid in one go. Tax on land and buildings, and on certain business or agricultural assets, can be spread over equal yearly instalments across ten years, which matters when the estate is asset-rich but cash-poor.
Two conditions come with it.
You will usually pay interest on the later instalments, and if you sell the asset the whole outstanding balance falls due at once. One recent easing: for assets inherited from 6 April 2026 onwards, instalments are interest-free where the asset qualifies for Agricultural Relief or Business Relief.
4. An executor’s loan or a probate loan. If the routes above do not free up enough cash, executors sometimes borrow against the estate itself. A probate loan is a short-term facility secured against the estate’s value, repaid once probate is granted and the assets are sold. It is the most expensive option here, so treat it as the fallback.
5. Life insurance or a joint account, where they apply. A policy written in trust usually sits outside the estate, paying out to the trustees for the named beneficiaries, and it can arrive quickly. The trustees control that money, so putting it toward the tax is their decision. A joint account held with a right of survivorship passes to the surviving holder rather than through probate, so it is not tied up while the grant is pending.
Two cautions there: it depends how the account was held, and the deceased’s share of the balance still counts toward the estate for tax even though the money is reachable.
The Direct Payment Scheme handles the bank balances, instalments handle the property, and a smaller cash payment tops up the difference.
How a specialist takes the tax and the grant off your hands
I have spent 35 years in estate planning, and this is the part I see get under people’s skin. The mechanics themselves are not complicated. What makes them hard is the moment they arrive, when you are also grieving and trying to keep a family informed.
That is where I come in. I handle the whole estate administration for a fixed fee of £1,880: the tax, the forms and the grant, so you are not left working out payment routes on your own. No hourly billing and no surprise add-ons, and you deal with me directly from start to finish rather than through a call centre.
Some estates are straightforward enough that you can handle the tax and the grant yourself, and I will tell you plainly if yours is one of them. If not, tell me what you are dealing with and I will explain what it involves and what it costs.
Call me on 020 8669 1779. The call is free and there is no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
Can you pay inheritance tax from the deceased’s bank account before probate?
Yes, through the Direct Payment Scheme, and there are three steps people miss. Ask the provider to recognise you as a personal representative, since each one does this differently and some do not take part at all. Get your inheritance tax payment reference number from HMRC, because a payment cannot be matched to the estate without it. Then send form IHT423 to the provider, one for each account, and your IHT400 to HMRC.
Who pays inheritance tax on an estate?
In most cases the executor pays it out of the estate’s funds before anything is distributed to the beneficiaries. Not always, though. Tax on a gift the deceased made in the seven years before death can fall on the person who received the gift, and tax on assets held in trust falls on the trustees. Check which category each part of the bill sits in before you pay it.
How do you know HMRC has received the inheritance tax payment?
HMRC does not send a receipt for each payment. It writes to you once the full amount of tax and interest has been paid. In the meantime, if you paid through your own bank or building society, your statement is the confirmation that the money left your account.
Last updated 13 August 2026. Deadlines, the Direct Payment Scheme and the instalment rules from gov.uk (Pay your Inheritance Tax bill; How to value an estate for Inheritance Tax and report its value).