Skip to content
UK estate figures › Residence nil-rate band

Inheritance tax · residence nil-rate band

£175,000

per person · when a home passes to direct descendants
Stacks with the £325,000 nil-rate band → £500,000 per person · £1,000,000 for a couple

Frozen until April 2031. Tapers away above £2,000,000 — estates above £2,350,000 get none.

Verified against GOV.UK on 17 Sept 2026
Figure history
25 Jun 2026 — Inheritance tax threshold freeze — end date: Frozen until April 2030 → Frozen until April 2031 · GOV.UK — Inheritance Tax ↗
The freeze on the nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band was extended by one further tax year at the Autumn Budget 2025; corrected in our figures 25 June 2026.
§1What it means

An extra £175,000 for estates that include a home left to children or grandchildren.

The residence nil-rate band is an addition to the standard nil-rate band — it only applies when a qualifying residential property is left to a direct descendant (a child, stepchild, grandchild, or their spouse). When both bands apply, a single person can pass on £500,000 before any inheritance tax is due.

Any unused RNRB transfers to a surviving spouse or civil partner — exactly as the standard NRB does. So a married couple who both leave their home to their children can combine all four thresholds: £1,000,000 in total.

There is a taper: the RNRB is reduced by £1 for every £2 the net estate exceeds £2,000,000. At £2,350,000, it is gone entirely — which is why estates in that bracket often benefit most from planning advice.

Single person — home to children
Nil-rate band£325,000
Residence nil-rate band£175,000
Total threshold£500,000
Married couple — full combined bands
Two nil-rate bands£650,000
Two residence bands£350,000
Total threshold£1,000,000
Estate over £2,350,000
Nil-rate band£325,000
Residence nil-rate band£0
RNRB fully tapered away£325,000
Worked example

A widower dies leaving an estate of £900,000, including a home worth £500,000, to his three children. His late wife's unused bands have transferred to him.

His own NRB + wife's transferred NRB£325,000 + £325,000£650,000
His own RNRB + wife's transferred RNRB£175,000 + £175,000£350,000
Total threshold£1,000,000
Estatebelow £1,000,000 → no inheritance tax due£900,000
Transfer claimed onIHT402 (NRB) + IHT436 (RNRB)
§2Common questions

The residence nil-rate band, answered.

The residence nil-rate band (RNRB) is an additional inheritance tax threshold of £175,000 that can apply on top of the standard £325,000 nil-rate band when a person leaves their home (or a share of it) to direct descendants — children, stepchildren, grandchildren, or their spouses.

Together, a single person can potentially pass on £500,000 free of inheritance tax.
Direct descendants include children, stepchildren, adopted children, and foster children, along with their own spouses, civil partners, widows, widowers, and surviving civil partners.

Grandchildren and great-grandchildren also qualify. Nieces, nephews, and siblings do not qualify as direct descendants.
Yes, in some circumstances. A 'downsizing addition' may apply if the person sold or downsized from a larger home after 8 July 2015 and would have otherwise qualified for the RNRB.

The amount of RNRB that would have been available is still claimable, provided direct descendants inherit equivalent assets. Form IHT436 is used to claim this.
Yes. Any unused RNRB transfers to a surviving spouse or civil partner, so a couple can potentially use £1,000,000 in combined thresholds — two NRBs of £325,000 each plus two RNRBs of £175,000 each.

The transfer is claimed on form IHT436 (for the RNRB) alongside IHT402 (for the NRB transfer).
Yes. The RNRB is reduced by £1 for every £2 by which the net estate exceeds £2,000,000.

At £2,350,000, the RNRB is zero. The taper applies before any reliefs such as Business Property Relief.
Form IHT436 is used to claim the transferable residence nil-rate band from a deceased spouse or civil partner.

It is submitted with the IHT400 inheritance tax return. The claim must be made within two years of the end of the month in which the survivor died.
§3Related next steps

Informational, not advice. Confirm against GOV.UK before acting. Figure verified 17 Sept 2026.

Cite this figure: Valoren, “Residence Nil-Rate Band,” https://valoren.uk/figures/residence-nil-rate-band (verified 17 Sept 2026).

From reading to ready

This guide is free, and it stays free. The Household Continuity Dossier renders your household's own version — your people, your accounts, your wishes — into a maintained record your executor or trusted person will actually reach for, kept current every year.

See The Household Continuity Dossier
Figure watch

The figures on this page change.

Court fees rise, thresholds move, deadlines shift.

Every figure on this page is dated and carries its source, and we re-check them against those sources. Leave an email and it reaches us directly.

Send this to Valoren. It reaches a real person.

It reaches a real person · Privacy
Part of a working library79form walkthroughs90+free guidesevery calculator & checker