12 to 15 months. That is the realistic answer for a property-holding non-excepted estate with no disputes. The trade-press shorthand of "9 to 12 months" applies to smaller and excepted estates without rental property or business assets. Complicated estates with multiple SPVs, foreign assets, or APR / BPR valuation contests run 18 to 24 months. Contentious estates with a caveat or IPFDA 1975 claim run 3 to 5 years or longer.
The honest answer is not "it depends"; it is a specific range with named causes for the variance. This page walks the stage-by-stage timeline, the HMRC IHT421 12-week target and HMCTS Probate Service 16-week target that anchor it, the 6-month IPFDA 1975 claim window as the biggest non-statutory delay built into responsible PR practice, the rental-property administration-period tax compliance, and the property-specific complications that lengthen probate beyond the modal case.
For the broader IHT framework that sits behind the probate procedure, see our inheritance tax: a brief summary orientation page. For the post-death deed-of-variation route within the 2-year window, see deed of variation property estate redirecting inheritance.
The published service standards: the calibration anchors
Two published service targets anchor the realistic timeline.
- HMRC IHT421 target: 12 weeks from receipt of IHT400 to issuance of IHT421. The IHT421 is the probate summary / payment receipt that HMRC issues once the personal representatives have submitted the full IHT account and paid (or arranged instalment payment for) the IHT due. The PR cannot proceed with the probate application until HMRC has issued IHT421 for non-excepted estates. Realistic slippage on this target has been common in recent years; cross-check the current published target at submission.
- HMCTS Probate Service target: 16 weeks from receipt of a valid application to issuance of grant. The HMCTS Probate Service is the single online portal post-2019. Realistic slippage on this target has also been common; the PR application that arrives complete and clean tends to fall closer to the target than applications that trigger requisitions.
The two targets in sequence (12 weeks IHT421 then 16 weeks grant) anchor a baseline of around 28 weeks (around 7 months) from IHT400 submission to grant. Preparation time pre-IHT400 typically runs 12-15 weeks for a property-holding estate. Post-grant administration (asset collection, debt payment, rental management, final distribution) typically runs 12-16 weeks. The IPFDA 1975 6-month claim window from grant runs concurrent with the post-grant administration phase but holds final distribution to roughly 6 months from grant.
Total realistic timeline: 12 to 15 months for the modal property-holding non-excepted estate.
The stage-by-stage timeline
Working through the modal property-holding estate stage by stage:
| Stage | Activity | Duration | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Death; death certificate (within 5 days under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953) | 1 week | 1 week |
| 1 | Asset and liability identification; valuation engagement; appointment of solicitor and accountant | 4 weeks | 5 weeks |
| 2 | Property valuations (death-date market value for IHT400 and TCGA s.62 uplift); BTL flat valuation; SPV share valuation; pension provider correspondence | 4-6 weeks | 9-11 weeks |
| 3 | IHT400 preparation and sign-off by executors; spouse exemption claim documented; calculation of IHT due (NRB plus transferable NRB plus RNRB plus transferable RNRB) | 3-4 weeks | 12-15 weeks |
| 4 | IHT400 submission to HMRC; first instalment of IHT paid (10-year instalment route under s.227 elected for property) | 1 week | 13-16 weeks |
| 5 | HMRC issues IHT421 (12-week target from IHT400 receipt) | 12 weeks | 25-28 weeks |
| 6 | Probate application submitted to HMCTS Probate Service via online portal | 1 week | 26-29 weeks |
| 7 | HMCTS Probate Service issues grant (16-week target) | 16 weeks | 42-45 weeks |
| 8 | Grant received; PRs collect assets; pay debts; manage rental property during administration; file SA900 for income arising | 8-12 weeks | 50-57 weeks |
| 9 | IPFDA 1975 6-month window observed (responsible PR practice) | 26 weeks from grant; runs concurrent with step 8 | aligned with step 8 |
| 10 | Final distribution of residuary; closing of estate accounts; final SA900 and clearance | 4-6 weeks | 54-63 weeks (12-15 months) |
The realistic outcome of 12 to 15 months reflects the modal property-holding non-excepted estate without disputes. Excepted estates (small, wholly-spouse-exempt, or nil-rate) can complete in 8 to 10 months because the IHT400 stage is replaced by a self-certification in the probate application under SI 2021/1167.
The IHT side: IHT400 and the s.227 instalment option
For non-excepted estates, the personal representatives submit IHT400 with supporting schedules (IHT403 gifts, IHT404 jointly-owned, IHT405 houses, IHT411 listed shares, IHT413 business and partnership interests, IHT414 agricultural property, IHT418 settled property, IHT419 debts owed to the deceased, and others as relevant).
The IHT due is calculated on the chargeable estate (gross estate less reliefs less exemptions less liabilities less the available nil-rate band stack). For property-holding estates the IHT bill commonly sits in the £50k-£500k range, with larger estates running into the millions.
Critical operational option: IHTA 1984 s.227 allows the PRs to elect to pay IHT attributable to qualifying property (land, buildings, certain business assets) in 10 equal annual instalments. The first instalment is due 6 months from the end of the month of death; subsequent instalments at annual intervals thereafter. Interest accrues on unpaid instalments at the HMRC published rate.
The instalment option is operationally critical for property-heavy estates. Without it, the PRs would be forced to sell property pre-grant to pay the IHT bill in full upfront, often at adverse cycle prices. With the instalment option, the PRs can pay the first instalment from estate cash (often the deceased's bank balances plus a small property sale where required) and roll the remainder over the 10-year window. Once a property is sold during administration, the outstanding instalment IHT becomes payable on the sold property's apportioned share at the next instalment date.
The excepted estates regime
Per SI 2021/1167 in force from 1 January 2022, three main routes qualify an estate as "excepted" and remove the need to file a full IHT400 account:
- Low-value excepted estates: net estate within the IHT nil-rate band (£325k single, up to £650k with transferable NRB).
- Wholly-spouse-exempt estates: estate passes entirely to a UK long-term resident spouse under IHTA 1984 s.18 (with the post-FA-2025 LTR test).
- Nil-rate excepted estates: estate at or below the NRB after gifts in the seven years pre-death.
For excepted estates, the PRs self-certify in the probate application; no separate IHT account is filed. HMRC has 60 days after grant to require additional information under IHTA 1984 s.256(1A); the right is rarely exercised.
For most landlord estates with one or more rental properties (typical net value £300k+), the excepted-estate routes do not fit unless the entire estate passes to the spouse. The IHT400 + IHT421 path is the relevant calendar.
The probate-application side
The probate application via the HMCTS Probate Service online portal requires:
- Original will (where probate sought) or evidence of intestacy (where letters of administration sought) under Senior Courts Act 1981 Part V.
- Executor or administrator identification (passport or driving licence).
- IHT421 for non-excepted estates (the probate summary issued by HMRC after IHT400 processing).
- Inventory of assets and liabilities (largely derived from the IHT400 schedules).
- Application fee (£273 for estates above £5,000; nil for estates at or below £5,000; checked at submission).
HMCTS Probate Service's target is 16 weeks from receipt of a valid application to issuance of grant. Common requisition triggers that extend the timeline include:
- Missing or unclear executor identification.
- Missing or out-of-date IHT421.
- Ambiguity over domicile or jurisdiction.
- Original will not provided (where copy provided).
- Mismatched name spellings between will, death certificate and identification.
Each requisition typically adds 4 to 8 weeks. Caveats lodged under NCPR 1987 rule 44 remove the grant from the timeline entirely until resolved.
The rental-property administration-period tax compliance
The rental property continues to generate income from the death date until vesting in the beneficiary. The income is taxable on the personal representatives at PR-level rates during the administration period.
Per CTA 2010 ss.34-35, the PR income tax rate on rental income is the basic rate (20%) with no personal allowance available. PRs are not individuals for personal-allowance purposes per HMRC's Trusts, Settlements and Estates Manual TSEM7320.
The PRs file an SA900 (trust and estate return) for the administration period. The SA900 captures all rental income, dividends and other estate income; the resulting tax is paid by the estate. Once the property vests in a beneficiary, rental income from then on is taxed on the beneficiary at their personal marginal rates.
The PR-level basic-rate compliance is a meaningful detail that catches families unaware. A modest BTL flat generating £15,000 per year of net rental income during a 12-month administration period produces a PR tax bill of £3,000 (£15,000 × 20%, no PA). For the modal property-holding estate the figures are bigger; budget for the PR-level tax in the administration cash flow.
The CGT side during administration
Two-stage analysis on the CGT side.
During administration. PRs hold each property at the uplifted death market value base cost per TCGA 1992 s.62. PR disposals attract PR CGT rates (24% residential / 20% non-residential from 6 April 2024 per FA 2024) with a PR annual exempt amount of £3,000 in the tax year of death plus the following two tax years per TCGA 1992 s.3.
After vesting in beneficiary. The beneficiary acquires at the same probate value (the death market value) as their base cost. Future disposals from then on attract the beneficiary's personal CGT rates with the beneficiary's personal annual exempt amount (£3,000 per individual from 6 April 2024).
The base-cost uplift under s.62 is the structural reason why PR disposals typically attract limited CGT exposure compared to lifetime gifts (where TCGA 1992 s.62(4) does not apply and the gain crystallises against the original acquisition cost). For property-holding estates the s.62 uplift is often the single most valuable feature of the IHT regime for the next-generation inheritor.
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The IPFDA 1975 six-month claim window
The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 gives a six-month window from the issuance of the grant in which certain family members and dependants (spouse, former spouse not remarried, civil partner, child, stepchild, person treated as child of the family, person maintained by the deceased) can apply to the court for reasonable financial provision from the estate.
Responsible PRs typically hold final distribution until 6 months past grant plus a reasonable additional margin to ensure no late-arriving claims will catch them with assets already distributed. This is non-statutory practice rather than statutory delay, but it commonly adds 6-8 months to the modal timeline.
The risk of distributing within the 6-month window: a successful IPFDA claim against an already-distributed estate can result in personal liability for the PRs. PRs are not statutorily protected for early distribution; the protection of Trustee Act 1925 s.27 notices to creditors does not extend to IPFDA claims.
Complications that lengthen the timeline
| Complication | Additional time |
|---|---|
| Foreign assets requiring resealing or separate grant | +4-8 weeks |
| Multiple SPVs requiring final CT600 and dormancy filing | +4-12 weeks (parallel to main probate, sometimes serial) |
| Agricultural / business property requiring APR / BPR valuation contest | +12-26 weeks (HMRC SVU review and potential FTT) |
| Caveat lodged under NCPR 1987 r.44 | +6 months minimum; potentially years |
| IPFDA 1975 claim filed | +6-24 months litigation and settlement |
| Will dispute / contentious probate | +12-60 months |
| Deed of variation negotiated within 2-year window | +4-12 weeks (typically reduces tax exposure rather than delaying core probate timeline) |
The most common complications for property-holding estates are multiple SPVs (each requiring final CT600 plus dormancy or strike-off filing) and foreign assets (a Spanish villa or French maison de campagne requires resealing of the UK grant in the foreign jurisdiction, or a separate foreign grant of authority).
Worked example: the realistic timeline for a rental-property estate
Persona: Holloway-family. Mr Holloway (deceased 6 January 2026, aged 78). Estate composition:
- Family home £650,000.
- BTL flat in Cambridge £280,000.
- Rental flat held in single-SPV LtdCo (£195,000 portfolio value via shares).
- Pension funds £420,000 DC pot (pre-6-April-2027, so outside IHT under current architecture).
- ISAs £165,000.
- Savings £28,000.
- Car £18,000.
Will: residuary estate split 60% to surviving spouse Mrs Holloway, 40% to two adult children. Executors: Mrs Holloway and elder son. No contentious issues. Spouse exemption applies to Mrs Holloway's 60%.
Realistic timeline applied to this estate:
- Stage 0 (week 1): death; death certificate; informal asset list.
- Stage 1 (weeks 2-5): solicitor and accountant appointed; estate valuer engaged; SPV share valuation commenced.
- Stage 2 (weeks 6-11): property valuations (death-date for IHT400 and TCGA s.62 uplift); SPV share valuation completed; pension provider correspondence; ISA / savings statements obtained.
- Stage 3 (weeks 12-15): IHT400 prepared. Spouse exemption claimed on 60% of residuary. NRB £325k + transferable NRB (Mrs Holloway not deceased so no transfer yet; this estate is first death). RNRB £175k (family home passing to direct descendants via the residuary split). Net chargeable estate after spouse exemption and reliefs: around £400k. IHT due: 40% × £75k after NRB and RNRB = £30,000.
- Stage 4 (week 16): IHT400 submitted; £30,000 IHT paid (or 10-year instalment option for property elected; in this case the cash position is sufficient to pay outright).
- Stage 5 (weeks 17-28): HMRC issues IHT421 (12-week target).
- Stage 6 (week 29): probate application submitted via HMCTS Probate Service.
- Stage 7 (weeks 30-45): HMCTS Probate Service issues grant (16-week target).
- Stage 8 (weeks 46-55): grant received; PRs collect ISA and savings; manage rental property during administration; SA900 filed for the administration period rental income.
- Stage 9 (weeks 30-55): IPFDA 1975 6-month window observed (no claims expected; observed for PR-protection reasons).
- Stage 10 (weeks 56-63): final distribution. Mrs Holloway's 60% (including spouse-exempt portion) settled. Children's 40% settled. Final SA900 and HMRC clearance.
Total realistic duration: around 60 weeks = around 14 months. Within the 12-15 month modal range.
Compressing the timeline
Five steps meaningfully compress the timeline. None of them can compress below around 8-9 months for a non-excepted estate because the HMRC and HMCTS service-level standards themselves set the floor.
- Early appointment of advisers. Solicitor, accountant and estate valuer engaged in the same week (week 1-2), not sequentially. Saves 2-4 weeks of front-loaded preparation time.
- IHT400 preparation in parallel with valuations. Start the IHT400 framework immediately with placeholder valuations; slot in the verified figures as they arrive. Saves 2-3 weeks vs the sequential approach.
- Clear executor communication channels. Many delays come from internal executor disagreements rather than HMRC or HMCTS. A documented executor decision-making process plus shared visibility of the timeline saves 2-6 weeks across the lifecycle.
- Trustee Act 1925 s.27 statutory notices early. Place the notices to creditors and claimants early in the process; the 2-month statutory window runs concurrent with the grant application rather than after, saving 6-8 weeks on the post-grant distribution side.
- Honest disclosure on the IHT400. Late-arriving HMRC requisitions on incomplete returns add 4-8 weeks per round. A complete IHT400 with all schedules and clear narrative on any judgment calls (valuation methodology; deeds-of-variation pre-planning; APR / BPR claims) avoids the requisition cycle.
The companion estate-administration pages
- Inheritance tax rental property UK guide. The property-specific comprehensive IHT pillar.
- IHT for property investors: decision framework 2026 onwards. The planning-route menu pre-death.
- April 2026 BPR and APR cap property impact. The reform mechanics relevant for IHT400 completion post-6-April-2026.
- Deed of variation property estate redirecting inheritance. The post-death route within the 2-year window under IHTA 1984 s.142.
- IHT spouse exemption and second-death property portfolio window. The spouse-route and second-death sequencing.
- Stamp duty relief for probate properties. The SDLT-on-probate transactional moment.
- Gift with reservation of benefit. The pre-death GROB planning context.
- Inheritance tax: a brief summary. The top-of-funnel IHT orientation.
The bigger picture
Probate timelines for property-holding estates are predictable. The HMRC IHT421 target plus the HMCTS Probate Service target plus the IPFDA 1975 6-month claim window plus the rental-property administration-period tax compliance combine into a realistic 12-15 month modal range. The trade-press shorthand of 9-12 months reflects smaller and excepted estates; it understates the realistic duration for the property-holding cohort.
The compression strategies above can move the modal case to 9-11 months. The complications above can extend the case to 18-24 months (multi-SPV or foreign asset) or 3-5 years (contentious). Knowing which range your estate sits in is the first step in planning the administration timeline honestly with the family.