IHT407: household and personal goods | Legacy Trail

Download form IHT407 from its GOV.UK publication page, "Inheritance Tax: household and personal goods (IHT407)". GOV.UK last updated that page on 27 July 2018. Notes for the wider account sit in the "Guide to completing your Inheritance Tax account (IHT400 notes 2022)", published with form IHT400.

Can I complete form IHT407 online?

GOV.UK does not describe form IHT407 as interactive, unlike form IHT400 itself. You download it, fill it in and send it with the rest of the IHT400 pack.

Do I need to value furniture for probate?

Yes, if the estate needs form IHT400. Form IHT407 covers usual furniture and domestic items as well as antiques, jewellery, cars and boats (GOV.UK). Everyday contents still carry a value and form part of the estate. Excepted estates do not send form IHT400, so form IHT407 does not apply.

Do I need a solicitor to complete form IHT407?

No. Executors and administrators can complete form IHT407 themselves. The point where help earns its cost is valuation, because GOV.UK's 27 July 2018 update added guidance notes on the professional valuation requirement to the English and Welsh versions of form IHT407. Higher value items need a valuer most.

What if the goods were left to charity?

Report them on form IHT408 instead. GOV.UK lists form IHT408 as the schedule for household and personal goods donated to charity, and form IHT407 as the schedule for such goods generally. Both sit in the same set of supplementary schedules attached to form IHT400.

Form IHT407: telling HMRC about household and personal goods

This page covers what form IHT407 is for, who fills it in, what it asks about, and where goods left to charity go.

By Edward MartinLast updated: 6 August 20264 min read

In brief

Form IHT407 is the Inheritance Tax schedule giving HMRC details of the deceased's household and personal goods, and it attaches to form IHT400 (GOV.UK).
You need form IHT407 if you are completing form IHT400, because the person's possessions count towards the estate value.
Form IHT407 covers antiques, jewellery, cars and boats as well as usual furniture and domestic items (GOV.UK).
GOV.UK last updated form IHT407 on 27 July 2018, adding new guidance notes on the professional valuation requirement to the English and Welsh versions.
Household and personal goods donated to charity are reported on form IHT408 instead of form IHT407.

Form IHT407 is the Inheritance Tax schedule used to tell HMRC about the household and personal goods someone owned when they died. It covers antiques, jewellery, cars and boats as well as usual furniture and domestic items. Form IHT407 attaches to form IHT400 and is not sent on its own.

What is form IHT407?

Form IHT407 is one of the supplementary schedules to form IHT400. Its official GOV.UK title is "Inheritance Tax: household and personal goods (IHT407)".

The purpose of form IHT407 is to give details about the deceased's household and personal goods (GOV.UK). Property has its own schedule, form IHT405, and bank accounts and investments have theirs.

Form IHT407 covers antiques, jewellery, cars and boats as well as usual furniture and domestic items (GOV.UK). A car on the drive belongs on form IHT407, not on a separate vehicle form.

Form IHT407 is current. GOV.UK last updated it on 27 July 2018, adding new guidance notes on the professional valuation requirement, covered below.

Download form IHT407 from its GOV.UK publication page.

Who needs to complete form IHT407?

You need form IHT407 if you are completing form IHT400 and the person owned household or personal goods.

Form IHT400 is used to apply for probate or confirmation when there is Inheritance Tax to pay, or when the estate does not qualify as an excepted estate (GOV.UK). If the estate is excepted, you send neither form IHT400 nor form IHT407.

An estate is usually excepted if its value is below the current Inheritance Tax threshold, or if it meets one of the other conditions GOV.UK lists (GOV.UK).

If you are unsure which route the estate takes, start with the inheritance tax threshold, then work through the wider set of inheritance tax forms.

What information does form IHT407 ask for?

Form IHT407 splits household and personal goods into four boxes. Box 1 covers jewellery valued at £1,500 or more, itemised individually. Box 2 covers vehicles, boats and aircraft, with make, model and condition. Box 3 covers antiques, works of art and collections. Box 4 is a single total for everything else, including jewellery worth less than £1,500 and ordinary furniture, which you do not need to itemise. Every box asks for the same basis of valuation: the open market value of the item at the date of death, not an insurance or replacement value.

Read the notes supplied with form IHT407 alongside the "Guide to completing your Inheritance Tax account (IHT400 notes 2022)".

When does form IHT407 need a professional valuation?

The threshold is £1,500. You do not need a professional valuation for ordinary goods you can estimate using publicly available data, such as pricing a second-hand car. If an item may be worth £1,500 or more, or you are unsure, GOV.UK advises a professional valuation at the open market value at the date of death.

Read the notes attached to the current version of form IHT407 before valuing anything significant. Our guide to how to value an estate for probate covers the wider job.

How does form IHT407 fit with form IHT400?

Form IHT407 has no deadline of its own. It travels with form IHT400, which must be sent within 12 months of the death and before you apply for probate (GOV.UK). HMRC then sends a unique code you need before applying; a missing schedule can hold that up.

Form IHT400 is interactive and needs Adobe Reader, and you cannot save a partly completed form, so gather your figures first (GOV.UK). See form IHT400 for the full account, and what an executor of a will does if you are new to the role.

Goods donated to charity go on form IHT408 instead, a separate schedule in the same IHT400 set, so nothing reported there also belongs on form IHT407.

One notification instead of dozens

Valuing possessions is only part of it. Most families also face a long list of banks, insurers, utilities and subscriptions, each wanting the same details. Legacy Trail finds the accounts and services the person held and notifies them centrally.

Frequently asked questions

Download form IHT407 from its GOV.UK publication page, "Inheritance Tax: household and personal goods (IHT407)". GOV.UK last updated that page on 27 July 2018. Notes for the wider account sit in the "Guide to completing your Inheritance Tax account (IHT400 notes 2022)", published with form IHT400.
GOV.UK does not describe form IHT407 as interactive, unlike form IHT400 itself. You download it, fill it in and send it with the rest of the IHT400 pack.
Yes, if the estate needs form IHT400. Form IHT407 covers usual furniture and domestic items as well as antiques, jewellery, cars and boats (GOV.UK). Everyday contents still carry a value and form part of the estate. Excepted estates do not send form IHT400, so form IHT407 does not apply.
No. Executors and administrators can complete form IHT407 themselves. The point where help earns its cost is valuation, because GOV.UK's 27 July 2018 update added guidance notes on the professional valuation requirement to the English and Welsh versions of form IHT407. Higher value items need a valuer most.
Report them on form IHT408 instead. GOV.UK lists form IHT408 as the schedule for household and personal goods donated to charity, and form IHT407 as the schedule for such goods generally. Both sit in the same set of supplementary schedules attached to form IHT400.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Individual circumstances vary. If you are dealing with an estate, consider taking advice from a solicitor who specialises in probate. For other guidance specific to your circumstances, speak to a funeral director, Citizens Advice, or a regulated financial adviser.