Inheritance tax and probate forms

Froglet

Hi all.I am about to fill in the forms,(no tax to pay)and wondered whether is is better to ask for them in paper form or whether  I should do it all online ,then print off ,sign and send.I haven't the most reliable printer and would hate to spend ages filling them in then not be able to print them ! Are there any pitfalls with either way ?

JGB1955

As far as I remember, applying online only involved printing off one page of A4.  I also get the impression that online applications are dealt with faster than paper applications.

Froglet

JGB1955 said:

As far as I remember, applying online only involved printing off one page of A4.  I also get the impression that online applications are dealt with faster than paper applications.

Thanks.I think my printer can manage that ! That's better,obviously that will be the page that needs a signature.I always want to be sure beforehand,especially with the comprehensive probate form that looks daunting at the moment.

Thrugelmir

Far easier to fill in paper forms. I'd opt for downloading and printing off every time. 

SevenOfNine

You complete IHT forms on line first, only once you have done that, then you can complete the probate form on line.

If I recall correctly, after IHT forms are done, you get a reference number & use it to move on to the probate forms.

The only thing I printed came on at the end, it was a 'top sheet' with a reference number & the address where the Will had to go, along with that topsheet.

Froglet

SevenOfNine said:

You complete IHT forms on line first, only once you have done that, then you can complete the probate form on line.

If I recall correctly, after IHT forms are done, you get a reference number & use it to move on to the probate forms.

The only thing I printed came on at the end, it was a 'top sheet' with a reference number & the address where the Will had to go, along with that topsheet.

So is there anything you actually  have to sign,or do you just send in the original will,and probably the death certificate ? I will have to read through all the notes again,but,coupled with not being well recently,,and still grieving over Mum,I feel it's a lot to get one's head round.

SevenOfNine

I genuinely don't recall having to print & sign any part of the probate form. Things being more 'modern', electronically done, nowadays (not necessarily a good thing).

It was 12 months ago so I'm happy to stand corrected by anyone more recent, or with a better memory! 

I had weighed up whether I should add a covering letter, but decided to just send exactly what they'd asked for, will, death cert, the top sheet with the reference/postal address, & I sent a cheque payment. I used signed for/tracked with next day delivery, cost about £7.

I found it much less daunting than I'd thought (always been a paper form filling sort of person, though I've done this a few times over the years, it was my first time with fully on-line probate). Once I'd done the HMRC form, response was more or less instant & I moved on more confidently to the probate form.

About 10 days or so after posting I got an email from probate office to say paperwork was rec'd (tracked, so I knew they'd got it several days earlier). Literally a minute or so later another email to say "approved" & Grants (I'd paid for several) arrived through my letter box a couple of days later.  All took less than 2 weeks. I was amazed at the speed.

Froglet

SevenOfNine said:

I genuinely don't recall having to print & sign any part of the probate form. Things being more 'modern', electronically done, nowadays (not necessarily a good thing).

It was 12 months ago so I'm happy to stand corrected by anyone more recent, or with a better memory! 

I had weighed up whether I should add a covering letter, but decided to just send exactly what they'd asked for, will, death cert, the top sheet with the reference/postal address, & I sent a cheque payment. I used signed for/tracked with next day delivery, cost about £7.

I found it much less daunting than I'd thought (always been a paper form filling sort of person, though I've done this a few times over the years, it was my first time with fully on-line probate). Once I'd done the HMRC form, response was more or less instant & I moved on more confidently to the probate form.

About 10 days or so after posting I got an email from probate office to say paperwork was rec'd (tracked, so I knew they'd got it several days earlier). Literally a minute or so later another email to say "approved" & Grants (I'd paid for several) arrived through my letter box a couple of days later.  All took less than 2 weeks. I was amazed at the speed.

Thank you so much,that has really helped and given me hope it shouldn't be too difficult to do.No hurry for it,as we have a property to sell but it will be easier with probate granted.

kipsterno1

As I have never been through this process before I downloaded and printed the paper forms. I then used these and the help documents to figure out what went where and get the numbers right. I then applied online which was a very straight forward task. Just one to watch, the online forms do not follow the paper forms so double check the questions that you are answering.
There is no 'wet' signature required in any of the process.

Froglet

kipsterno1 said:

As I have never been through this process before I downloaded and printed the paper forms. I then used these and the help documents to figure out what went where and get the numbers right. I then applied online which was a very straight forward task. Just one to watch, the online forms do not follow the paper forms so double check the questions that you are answering.
There is no 'wet' signature required in any of the process.

Thank you.It's great to hear of other's experiences,it will be very helpful,as I don't want to get it wrong on such an important,and costly,process !

Officer_Dibble

There are 2 different processes, depending on whether you need the shorter IHT205 or longer IHT400 form. In your case, no tax to pay usually implies IHT 205, but not always - I had to go the IHT400 route despite no tax being payable (which involves a ludicrous number of forms)

Assuming it's IHT205, it looks like the online application's quite easy and as a previous answer has said, they deal with it more quickly if you submit online - just a cover sheet to print and submit with death cert etc as far as I know.