Reporting a Simple Estate to HMRC

jem16

poseidon1 said:

RS2OOO said:

poseidon1 said:

RS2OOO said:

Hi all,

I'm a rare poster as the answers I need are usually easy to find on here, but some extra clarification on this would put my mind at rest.

Mum died last summer, and had let out her home whilst battling cancer.

Probate's granted and as executor I'd like to tie in reporting the simple estate with the tax year end and simaultaniously distributing the estate to beneficiaries.

4 Months after death Mum's 2 year fixed rate savings bond matured, circa £1000 interest.
Does it matter that technically 20 Months of that interest was earned while she was alive (and would have been tax free), or do I report the full £1000 ?

Since death we've also earned around £10 in shares dividends which I shall report.

Finally, by end of March I'll have received about £10,000 in rental income from her home, but I have paid out around £3000 in repairs and maintenance.
Do I report £10,000 or £7000 as the income?

The lack of clarity comes from HMRCs wording which doesn't make it fool proof as to whether you should report income before or after expenses:

"a year by year breakdown of any income and capital gains for the whole administration period"


My thinking is that I should report as follows:
Savings interest: £1000
Dividends from shares: £10
Property rental income: £7000

Thanks in advance for any help.

For clarity, the informal tax reporting system can only be triggered if all aspects of the estate administration has been completed - guidance below

https://www.gov.uk/probate-estate/reporting-the-estate

In your case, assuming the estate property is still generating rent being collected by the executors and no attempt has yet been made to remove the property from the executor's ownership by way of an Assent in favour of the beneficiaries entitled to the property ( or sale ), then the estate administration remains ongoing. You will not have met the criteria for a final reporting of the entire tax payable by the estate for ' the whole of the administration period'.

So what is the current position with regard to the property and what are the executors intentions in dealing with it going forward ( sale or retain in the ownership of beneficiaries?).

As for the taxable income you quoted, the net rent was stated  as up to March 2025, so do the  interest and dividend  numbers solely relate to the period to 5 April 2025 ( ie the 2024/25) tax year? What is the quantum of estate income (if any) received so far for the current tax year?

Hi,
The year I wish to report on is 2025 to 2026 - From date of death last summer to 31st March 2026 when I'd like to finalise distribution of the estate. (Tax return already filed and tax paid for the deceased up to date of death).

The Executors are the Beneficiaries of the let property, we are working through forms ID1, AS1 and AP1 to transfer the title. Everything else has already been distributed.

Then you can if you wish use the informal letter approach rather than a formal SA 900 estate tax return.

Seems you would be reporting with appropriate explanatory narratives:

Interest £1000 @ 20%
Dividend £10 @ 8.75%
Net rents £7000 @ 20 %

However, please note we have heard anecdotal stories of there being a large backlog of these informal returns piled up with HMRC waiting to be dealt with, so could be some time before you get a response.

https://www.pie.tax/tax-pible/delayed-hmrc-processing-times-2026-what-you-need-to-know

Also don't overlook your responsibility to issue the residual beneficiaries with R185 ( estate) forms for them to report ( if needed) their defacto shares of the estate net income  in due course- see below

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65e5aeb57bc329e58db8c1b9/R185Estate-Income.pdf

I sent my informal reporting letter on 19th November 2025.

Phoned HMRC Bereavement helpline a week ago to check if it was received. Told it was but it hadn’t yet been passed to the relevant team to work on. Adviser said give him a few minutes to work on something. He came back and said he’d passed it on up the chain and would be no tax to pay and should hear in about a week.

I then informed him that that didn’t make sense as although no CGT tax was due as I clearly stated in the letter, around £1500 tax was due from interest and dividend payments.

The adviser then started waffling on about being very busy and changed his mind to being at least 4 weeks till I heard. Told me I should have followed up the letter with a phone call. Sounded like he was just making stuff up to be honest.