Does a jointly owned house need probate?

Not where it is held as joint tenants and passes to the survivor. A share held as tenants in common normally does need a grant.

Tax · 5 min read

Inheritance Tax on jointly owned assets

Joint assets still count for Inheritance Tax, even where they pass automatically to the survivor. The question is what share belonged to the deceased, and what it was worth.

Written and reviewed by Ramani Gill, Founder & CEO — Solicitor, TEP, BA, LLM. Last reviewed 2026-08-19.

The two ways property is held

Held as	What happens on death	In the estate?
Joint tenants	Passes automatically to the survivor	The deceased's share is still valued for IHT
Tenants in common	The share passes under the will or intestacy	Yes, and a grant is normally needed

Check the Land Registry title. A restriction in Form A usually indicates a tenancy in common, and it changes who inherits as well as how the estate is administered.

The joint property discount

A part share of a property is worth less than the arithmetic fraction, because it is harder to sell. A discount of around 10% to 15% is commonly accepted where the co-owner is not a spouse, reflecting the reality of the market.

No discount between spouses

Where the co-owner is the spouse or civil partner the transfer is exempt anyway, so the discount rarely matters.

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Joint accounts and possessions

The default is equal shares, unless the evidence shows otherwise
Where one holder provided all the funds, the whole balance may belong to them
Chattels held jointly follow the same reasoning: who actually paid for them

GOV.UK — Valuing an estate

Common questions

Does a jointly owned house need probate?: Not where it is held as joint tenants and passes to the survivor. A share held as tenants in common normally does need a grant.

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