Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average waiting time was for individuals submitting an IHT400 form to HMRC between 1 January to 30 April 2024 to receive a unique code to enable them to apply for probate; and how many individuals have waited for (a) one to two, (b) two to three, (c) three to four, (d) four to five, (e) five to six and (e) more than six months since submitting their IHT400 form to receive the unique code from HMRC as of 8 May 2024.

HMRC prioritises requests for IHT reference numbers and the follow up IHT400 forms submitted to set up an IHT account. Between 1 January and 30 April 2024 HMRC have exceeded its service standard for issuing unique codes for Probate cases where the correct tax amount has been accounted for. The service standard is to process 80% of these requests within 15 working days.