What if we cannot pay by the deadline?

Pay what you can, elect for instalments on qualifying assets, and tell HMRC. Interest continues but there is no penalty simply for late payment where the account is delivered on time.

Tax · 5 min read

Paying Inheritance Tax before you have the grant

HMRC must be paid before HMCTS will issue the grant, but the grant is what unlocks the money. There are four established ways round the problem.

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

The deadline

Inheritance Tax is due at the end of the sixth month after the month of death. Interest runs from that date whether or not the grant has issued, so late payment costs money even where the delay is not your fault.

The four routes

Route	How it works
Direct Payment Scheme	Banks pay HMRC directly from the deceased's accounts on form IHT423
Instalment option	Tax on property and some businesses can be paid over ten annual instalments
Beneficiary or executor funds it	Reimbursed from the estate once the grant issues
Executor's loan	A bank lends against the estate; interest is an administration expense

Doing this yourself?

Our guided service walks an executor through valuations, the HMCTS forms and the estate accounts for a one-off £349.

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The sequence

Complete the IHT400 and calculate the tax
Submit IHT423 to each bank holding funds, if using the direct payment scheme
Pay HMRC and wait for them to process it
Receive the unique code, or the IHT421 for older cases, that HMCTS needs
Submit the probate application quoting that code

Build in HMRC processing time

Allow around twenty working days after payment before the probate application can proceed. Submitting early simply gets the application stopped.

GOV.UK — Pay your Inheritance Tax bill

Common questions

What if we cannot pay by the deadline?: Pay what you can, elect for instalments on qualifying assets, and tell HMRC. Interest continues but there is no penalty simply for late payment where the account is delivered on time.

Not sure whether this estate is straightforward?

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