Guessed at property value for probate

dbrookf

Mum died late last year and left a small terraced house which we thought would be worth about £75,000. Probate has now been granted for £165,000 and we are wondering if we do the house up to sell  i.e. redecorate etc, And it sells for a bit more - Would we be liable for CGT as the estimate for the house was purely guessed at?

gwynlas

It would be best to sell the house as requiring refurbishment just making sure hat it is clean and tidy without any major problems rather than  go to the bother and expense of doing something yourselves.

Marcon

See https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/customerforums/cgt/77959b81-9a45-ee11-a81c-6045bd0b507d#:~:text=Hi%2C,Thank%20you.

Keep_pedalling

If you have undervalued the house you will be facing a CGT liability. Where an estate is well below IHT exemptions it is always better to go high with the valuation to avoid this issue.

dbrookf

Keep_pedalling said:

If you have undervalued the house you will be facing a CGT liability. Where an estate is well below IHT exemptions it is always better to go high with the valuation to avoid this issue.

I don’t mind paying CGT at all if it is due - However, does the £165,000 get broken down into the house and any cash as the probate just states that figure and not broken down into the house and the cash?

Sarahspangles

dbrookf said:

Keep_pedalling said:

If you have undervalued the house you will be facing a CGT liability. Where an estate is well below IHT exemptions it is always better to go high with the valuation to avoid this issue.

I don’t mind paying CGT at all if it is due - However, does the £165,000 get broken down into the house and any cash as the probate just states that figure and not broken down into the house and the cash?

What did you put on the application for probate?

dbrookf

Sarahspangles said:

dbrookf said:

Keep_pedalling said:

If you have undervalued the house you will be facing a CGT liability. Where an estate is well below IHT exemptions it is always better to go high with the valuation to avoid this issue.

I don’t mind paying CGT at all if it is due - However, does the £165,000 get broken down into the house and any cash as the probate just states that figure and not broken down into the house and the cash?

What did you put on the application for probate?

I can’t remember 🫣

Linwhite

If you applied for probate using the online form it doesn't actually ask for a breakdown of the figure, you just put in the overall figures which you get if you use the online IHT checker , the figures from the IHT check  don't actually go through to HMRC or Probate so I'm not really sure how they can check exactly how much you valued the house for as long as your overall figure adds up if they ever query it. 

dbrookf

Can anyone else confirm Linwhite’s statement please?

polar_pig

dbrookf said:

Can anyone else confirm Linwhite’s statement please?

Yes, Linwhite is correct. 

In the online probate form, the section headed "What are the values for the estate for inheritance tax?", sub-section "Gross Value" it asks "What is the total value of all assets like property, money and gifts in the last 7 years before taking off any debts". It requests a single figure. There is no breakdown requested anywhere on the form.

Again, as Linwhite stated, the online IHT checker does request the value of any property, but this is not part of the probate application and is not attributable to any particular person or application.

Why not get an estate agent valuations now before attempting doing any refurbishment. That way you'll get a better idea whether CGT might apply upon sale given that the probate value was 'guessed'.

Savvy_Sue

polar_pig said:

Why not get an estate agent valuations now before attempting doing any refurbishment. That way you'll get a better idea whether CGT might apply upon sale given that the probate value was 'guessed'.

You'll also get a better idea of whether any work you're thinking of doing is likely to be worthwhile. Throwing magnolia paint everywhere might help it sell if there's a glut of that kind of property in the area, but ripping out bathrooms and kitchens might not increase the selling price, because others may not like your taste and want to do their own thing. That's been the advice we've always been given.