Assets, Residence and Valuation team,
HM Revenue and Customs,
100 Parliament Street ,
London,
SW1A 2BQ
Inheritance Tax on pensions: liability, reporting and payment
- From:
- HM Revenue & Customs
- Published
- 30 October 2024
- Last updated
- 21 July 2025 — See all updates
This consultation has concluded
Read the full outcome
Detail of outcome
At Autumn Budget 2024, the government published a technical consultation on bringing unused pension funds and death benefits into scope of Inheritance Tax from 6 April 2027.
The government has now published a summary of responses and a full response to this technical consultation. This confirms that, in line with the current treatment of pensions already in scope of Inheritance Tax, personal representatives will be liable to report and pay Inheritance Tax on pensions from 6 April 2027.
It also confirms that all death in service benefits payable from a registered pension scheme will be excluded from the value of an individual’s estate for IHT purposes. This supports the government’s objective to build a fairer tax system by removing distortions which have led to pension schemes being increasingly used and marketed as a tax planning vehicle to transfer wealth, rather than for funding retirement. It also removes inconsistencies in the Inheritance Tax treatment of different types of pensions.
Original consultation
Summary
We welcome views on this technical consultation on the processes required to implement changes to Inheritance Tax rules for pension funds and death benefits.
This consultation closesran atfrom
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Consultation description
As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, from 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included within the value of a person’s estate for Inheritance Tax purposes and pension scheme administrators will become liable for reporting and paying any Inheritance Tax due on pensions to HMRC.
This is a technical consultation on the processes required to implement these changes for UK-registered pension schemes. It is likely to be of interest to individuals, pension scheme administrators and other pensions professionals, tax and legal practitioners.
After the consultation, the government will publish a response document and carry out a technical consultation on draft legislation for these changes in 2025.
Documents
Consultation description
As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, from 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included within the value of a person’s estate for Inheritance Tax purposes and pension scheme administrators will become liable for reporting and paying any Inheritance Tax due on pensions to HMRC.
This is a technical consultation on the processes required to implement these changes for UK-registered pension schemes. It is likely to be of interest to individuals, pension scheme administrators and other pensions professionals, tax and legal practitioners.
After the consultation, the government will publish a response document and carry out a technical consultation on draft legislation for these changes in 2025.
Documents
Ways to respond
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Updates to this page
Published 30 October 2024
Last updated 21 July 2025
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A summary of responses to the consultation has been published.
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First published.
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Update history
2025-07-21 17:00
A summary of responses to the consultation has been published.
2024-10-30 14:02
First published.