How much will probate cost this estate?
Part 1 works out the court fee. Part 2 is an optional inheritance tax sketch.
1. Court fee
2. Rough inheritance tax sketch (optional)
Indicative only, not tax advice. The sketch ignores lifetime gifts, reliefs, the 36% charity rate, partly used allowances and pensions. Your answers stay in this page.
How is the court fee worked out?
The fee depends on the net value of the estate passing under the grant. The Non-Contentious Probate Fees Order 2004 charges the application fee where this “assessed value” exceeds £5,000, and the 2026 amending order set it at £526 from 13 July 2026. GOV.UK explains how to reach the figure in before you apply: leave out joint assets passing to a surviving owner, gifts, assets abroad and trust assets, then deduct debts and funeral costs.
| Estate | Value under the grant | Court fees |
|---|---|---|
| Home and main account held jointly; small sole savings account | £3,800 | £0 application fee; 3 copies at £2 = £6 |
| Home in sole name with a £40,000 mortgage, plus savings | £180,000 | £526 + 4 copies at £2 = £534 |
Copies ordered later cost £16 each, so ordering enough at the start saves money. You may get help with the application fee on a low income, but not with copies.
How does the inheritance tax sketch work?
The sketch follows the main rules on GOV.UK and leaves out the rest:
- Threshold: the first £325,000 is tax-free, and tax is 40% of the value above the allowances. The threshold stays at £325,000 until 5 April 2031 (Finance Act 2026, s.72).
- Residence band: up to £175,000 more when a home or share is left to children, stepchildren or grandchildren. It is the lower of that maximum and the home's value, less any mortgage, and it tapers away by £1 for every £2 the estate is worth over £2 million.
- A late spouse's allowances: unused threshold and residence band can be added to a widow's or widower's estate. The tick box assumes the late spouse used none of them.
- Spouse exemption: nothing is charged on gifts to a husband, wife or civil partner who lives permanently in the UK.
| Situation | Allowances | Rough tax |
|---|---|---|
| Single, estate £600,000, no home to descendants | £325,000 | 40% of £275,000 = £110,000 |
| Estate £450,000; home worth £250,000 left to children | £325,000 + £175,000 | £0 |
| Estate £450,000; home worth £120,000 left to children | £325,000 + £120,000 (capped at the home's value) | 40% of £5,000 = £2,000 |
| Widowed, late spouse used nothing; estate £900,000; home £400,000 to children | £650,000 + £350,000 | £0 |
What does the sketch leave out?
The sketch leaves out anything that needs detailed figures or advice:
- gifts made in the seven years before death, which can use up the threshold;
- business and agricultural relief, and the reduced 36% rate when 10% or more of the net estate goes to charity;
- allowances a late spouse partly used;
- pensions: from 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits are due to come into inheritance tax.
For a fuller calculation use the inheritance tax calculator, and for a real figure follow GOV.UK's valuing the estate guidance or take advice.
What should you do with the result?
If the sketch shows no tax and the estate is straightforward, it is probably an excepted estate and you can report its values in the probate application. If it shows tax, you must send form IHT400 within 12 months and pay by the end of the sixth month after the death to avoid interest; take advice, especially where the estate includes a business, farm, trust or property abroad. The probate costs guide and the executor checklist cover the next steps.
Sources
- The Court and Tribunal Fees (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/642) and S.I. 2026/665
- Non-Contentious Probate Fees Order 2004, article 1
- GOV.UK: Applying for probate, fees and before you apply
- GOV.UK: How Inheritance Tax works
- GOV.UK: Check if you can get an additional Inheritance Tax threshold
- Finance Act 2026, section 72
- GOV.UK: Inheritance Tax on unused pension funds and death benefits
- GOV.UK: Value the estate and report it for Inheritance Tax
Sources checked 24 September 2026.