Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how long on average HMRC takes to make decisions in inheritance tax cases.

HMRC aims to process 80 per cent of Inheritance Tax (IHT) returns within 15 days and cleared 82.1 per cent within 15 days in the last month. Once HMRC has processed the return, it will issue an IHT calculation for tax due.

Once any IHT due has been paid, notification will be sent by HMRC to the Probate Registry for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland cases, and to the Sheriff Clerk or Commissary Clerk for cases in Scotland. The IHT notification will be linked with the probate application, or confirmation application in Scotland, to enable a grant of probate or confirmation to be issued by them.

Customers will be contacted by HMRC within 12 weeks of them issuing the IHT calculation if further information is required. A small percentage of these IHT returns will require more detailed compliance checks. The length of these compliance checks can vary, and will depend on the complexity of the case.