Where do you download form IHT436?

Form IHT436 is published on GOV.UK at the page titled "Claim transferable residence nil rate band (IHT436)", last updated 30 August 2022. Download it from GOV.UK rather than a third party site, since HMRC issues new versions.

Can you complete form IHT436 online?

No online submission route is published for it. Form IHT436 is one of the IHT400 schedules; form IHT400 is interactive and needs Adobe Reader, and you cannot save a partly completed copy of IHT436 either. Gather your figures first and expect to print and post it with the rest of the pack.

Do you need form IHT435 as well as form IHT436?

Yes. GOV.UK states you can only use form IHT436 if you are also claiming the residence nil rate band on the current estate, via form IHT435. Form IHT435 is the claim for this estate; form IHT436 adds the unused band from the earlier death.

Can you claim if the first spouse died before 6 April 2017?

Yes. GOV.UK lists a death before 6 April 2017 as one of two qualifying situations for form IHT436. The other is a spouse or civil partner who died on or after that date without using all of their residence nil rate band.

Do you need a solicitor to complete form IHT436?

No, executors can complete form IHT436 themselves. A transfer claim rests on records from a death that may be decades old, so paid advice helps where records are incomplete or the estate nears the £2 million taper threshold.

Form IHT436: claiming a transferable residence nil rate band

This page covers what form IHT436 claims, who qualifies, and when to send it.

By Edward MartinLast updated: 6 August 20264 min read

In brief

Form IHT436 is the IHT400 schedule that claims a transferable residence nil rate band from a spouse or civil partner who died first.
You can only use form IHT436 alongside a residence nil rate band claim on the current estate, meaning you also complete form IHT435 (GOV.UK).
The earlier spouse or civil partner must have died before the deceased, either before 6 April 2017, or on or after that date without using all of their residence nil rate band (GOV.UK).
The residence nil rate band is £175,000 for deaths from 6 April 2020 to 5 April 2030, so a couple can pass on up to £350,000 of residence allowance between them.
Form IHT436 is current. GOV.UK last updated it on 30 August 2022, adding the deadline for sending it to HMRC.

Form IHT436 claims the unused residence nil rate band of a spouse or civil partner who died first and transfers it to the current estate. It is a supplementary schedule to form IHT400, used only alongside form IHT435, which claims the band on the current estate.

What is form IHT436?

Form IHT436 is titled "Claim transferable residence nil rate band (IHT436)" on GOV.UK. The residence nil rate band is an extra Inheritance Tax allowance for when a home passes to direct descendants. Form IHT435 claims it for the person who has just died; form IHT436 claims the part a spouse or civil partner left unused earlier.

Both are supplementary schedules to form IHT400, the full Inheritance Tax account, and GOV.UK last updated form IHT436 on 30 August 2022.

Who needs to complete form IHT436?

GOV.UK sets two conditions, both of which must be met.

Condition one: you must be claiming the residence nil rate band on the current estate, which means also completing form IHT435.
Condition two: the deceased must have had a spouse or civil partner who died before them, either before 6 April 2017, or on or after that date without using all of the residence nil rate band available to them.

There is no standalone transfer claim. Form IHT435 requires the deceased to have died on or after 6 April 2017, owned a residence in the estate, and left it to direct descendants, or to have downsized, sold or given away a residence on or after 8 July 2015.

What information does form IHT436 ask for?

Form IHT436 starts with the spouse or civil partner's name, dates of marriage and death, and their Inheritance Tax reference if the estate had one. It then asks whether any residence nil rate band was used on their estate. If none was used, you work through their estate's total value, the taper threshold at death, and the residential enhancement then in force, to reach a percentage of unused band. If some was used, you work from GOV.UK's 'Default Allowance' or 'Adjusted Allowance' instead. GOV.UK lists no separate supporting documents for form IHT436, unlike form IHT402, which asks for photocopies of the grant, will and any deed of variation.

How much is the transferable residence nil rate band worth?

Residence nil rate band: £175,000, applying from 6 April 2020 to 5 April 2030 (GOV.UK).
Maximum for a couple: up to £350,000 of residence allowance where a full unused band transfers.
Taper threshold: £2 million. It reduces by £1 for every £2 the estate is worth above that (GOV.UK).

A transferred band still faces the taper, so an estate above £2 million can see it shrink. See the residence nil rate band for more.

How does form IHT436 differ from form IHT402?

They transfer different allowances, and an estate may need both.

Form IHT402 transfers unused ordinary nil rate band, £325,000 as of August 2026, applying from 6 April 2009 to 5 April 2031 (GOV.UK).
Form IHT436 transfers unused residence nil rate band, currently £175,000, only where a home passes to direct descendants.

If both bands went unused on the first death, you complete form IHT402, form IHT435 and form IHT436.

When do you need to send form IHT436?

Form IHT436 goes to HMRC with form IHT400, which must be sent within 12 months of the death and before you apply for probate (GOV.UK). Form IHT436 also carries its own deadline, added in the GOV.UK update of 30 August 2022: you must send it no later than 24 months after the end of the month the deceased died. GOV.UK's own example: a spouse or civil partner who died 15 May 2006 and a deceased who died 10 October 2007 gives a deadline of 31 October 2009.

Inheritance Tax must be paid by the end of the sixth month after the death (GOV.UK). See how to apply for probate for the order of steps, and inheritance tax forms for the rest of the schedule set.

Notify every provider once

Claiming a transferred allowance means knowing what the first estate held, which is hard when nobody knows which providers the person used. Legacy Trail finds the accounts and services a person held and notifies them centrally.

Frequently asked questions

Form IHT436 is published on GOV.UK at the page titled "Claim transferable residence nil rate band (IHT436)", last updated 30 August 2022. Download it from GOV.UK rather than a third party site, since HMRC issues new versions.
No online submission route is published for it. Form IHT436 is one of the IHT400 schedules; form IHT400 is interactive and needs Adobe Reader, and you cannot save a partly completed copy of IHT436 either. Gather your figures first and expect to print and post it with the rest of the pack.
Yes. GOV.UK states you can only use form IHT436 if you are also claiming the residence nil rate band on the current estate, via form IHT435. Form IHT435 is the claim for this estate; form IHT436 adds the unused band from the earlier death.
Yes. GOV.UK lists a death before 6 April 2017 as one of two qualifying situations for form IHT436. The other is a spouse or civil partner who died on or after that date without using all of their residence nil rate band.
No, executors can complete form IHT436 themselves. A transfer claim rests on records from a death that may be decades old, so paid advice helps where records are incomplete or the estate nears the £2 million taper threshold.

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.