How to complete IHT410: life insurance, investment bonds, and annuities for Inheritance Tax
Whether a life insurance payout forms part of the estate — and is therefore subject to IHT — depends entirely on whether the policy was written in trust.
A policy written in trust pays directly to the trust beneficiaries, bypasses the estate completely, and is not taxable.
A policy not in trust pays into the estate and is taxable.
This walkthrough explains how to identify which category a policy falls into, what information the insurer needs to provide, how investment bonds are valued, and how guaranteed-period annuities work.
✓ Official source checked 2 September 2026 · GOV.UK last revised this form 25 June 2026IHT410 on GOV.UK ↗
United Kingdom·Informational, not legal or financial advice·Official source: GOV.UK
✓Official form · always current
This is the same official IHT410 file HM Revenue & Customs publishes on GOV.UK — the link below fetches the current version live from GOV.UK the moment you click it, so it can never go out of date.
Current version: June 2026 · confirmed on GOV.UK 2 September 2026
This walkthrough takes IHT410 field by field, in plain English. Most of the form is administrative; the hard part is one decision repeated for every policy — was it written in trust? A policy in trust pays outside the estate and never goes on this form. A policy not in trust pays into the estate and is taxable. Get that decision wrong and the calculation is wrong.
The trust assumption that changes the calculation
Assuming a life insurance policy is automatically in trust and therefore excluded.
Many older policies — particularly endowment policies taken out before the widespread use of trust arrangements, and policies taken out to cover a mortgage — are NOT written in trust.
If the policy pays to 'the estate' or 'the legal personal representatives' rather than to named beneficiaries, it is likely not in trust and must be included on IHT410.
The form, in summary
The IHT410 form, in summary.
Valoren
IHT410·4 pages·22 fields guided
With Valoren20 minutes
Without Valoren1–2 hours
contacting each insurer/bond provider for date-of-death valuations
IHT410 covers two categories: (1) life insurance policies and investment bonds that were not written in trust and therefore form part of the deceased's estate; and (2) annuities that may have a remaining guaranteed-period value payable after death.
A life insurance policy written in trust does NOT go on IHT410 — the proceeds pass directly to the trust beneficiaries outside the estate and outside IHT.
Executors must establish whether each policy was in trust before including it.
Onshore investment bonds are reported at their full surrender value as at the date of death (the insurance company will provide a 'death valuation' letter).
·Who Files — The executor or administrator, as part of the IHT400 account
·4 pages · 22 fields guided
·Draws from your Estate File — Policy Index, Financial Accounts, Legal Instruments
Section01
§11
Section 1
In trust or not in trust — the question everything else depends on
For every life insurance policy and investment bond in the deceased's name, the first question is always: was this written in trust? The answer determines whether it appears on IHT410 at all.
01
Policies written in trust — excluded from the estate
A policy 'written in trust' means the policyholder placed it into a legal trust at the time of taking it out (or later).
The trust owns the policy; the policyholder's estate does not.
When the policyholder dies, the proceeds are paid to the trust beneficiaries directly.
The executor has no role in claiming the money, and HMRC has no IHT claim over it.
Do not include these policies on IHT410.
02
How to tell if a policy is in trust
Contact the insurance company and ask: 'Was this policy written in trust? If so, can you provide a copy of the trust deed?'
Policies in trust typically have: a trust deed or 'expression of wishes' form on file; named beneficiaries who are not 'the estate'; a reference to 'trustees' in the policy schedule.
If the insurer has no trust documentation and the policy simply names the estate or personal representatives as beneficiary, it is not in trust.
03
Policies not in trust — included on IHT410
Any policy that was not placed in trust pays to the estate.
The executor claims the proceeds (with the Grant of Probate) and the payout is an estate asset for IHT.
Policies commonly not in trust: mortgage protection policies (many older ones), endowment policies, income protection policies with a death benefit, and older whole-of-life policies taken out before trust planning became standard.
04
Joint policies
A joint life policy (on two lives) typically pays on the first death to the surviving life assured, not to the estate — this is a contractual right under the policy, not a trust.
The payout goes to the survivor directly.
Only if both lives die simultaneously (extremely rare) would the estate receive the proceeds.
Do not include a joint life policy on IHT410 unless there is an unusual provision making it payable to the estate.
For every life insurance policy and investment bond in the deceased's name, the first question is always: was this written in trust? The answer determines whether it appears on IHT410 at all.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) · IHT410❦
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Section 2
Investment bonds — onshore and offshore
Investment bonds (sometimes called single-premium investment bonds or 'maximum investment plans') are common in older estates.
They are a form of life insurance wrapper around an investment fund. Unlike pure life insurance, their primary purpose is investment growth — the life cover is nominal.
01
What to report
The surrender value of the bond at the date of death.
Contact the bond provider (often an insurance company such as Prudential, Aviva, Royal London, Standard Life, or an offshore provider such as RL360 or Zurich International) and request a 'death valuation' — the value as at the date of death.
They will provide this in writing.
Some bonds also pay a death benefit uplift (typically 1% of the fund value) — include the full amount including any uplift.
02
Onshore vs offshore bonds — different tax treatment
Onshore bonds (UK-based): any investment growth has had basic-rate income tax paid within the fund.
When the estate eventually encashes an onshore bond, there may be a chargeable event gain — but in an estate context, the executor and then beneficiaries are taxed on any gain above the 5% annual withdrawal allowance.
Report the full surrender value on IHT410.
Offshore bonds (Isle of Man, Ireland, etc.): no tax has been paid within the fund.
The full surrender value is reported on IHT410.
Any gain on encashment is income for the beneficiary.
03
Segment structure
Many investment bonds are structured in segments (for example, 100 segments of £1,000 each, total £100,000 fund).
The value for IHT410 is the total fund value across all segments, not the value per segment.
Investment bonds (sometimes called single-premium investment bonds or 'maximum investment plans') are common in older estates.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) · IHT410❦
Section03
§33
Section 3
Annuities — when they have a death value
An annuity is a policy that pays a regular income for life.
Typically, when the annuitant dies, the annuity simply stops — there is no death benefit and nothing to report on IHT410. However, some annuities have features that mean there is a value payable after death.
01
Guaranteed period annuities
Some annuities are sold with a 'guaranteed period' (usually 5 or 10 years).
If the annuitant dies within the guaranteed period, the remaining guaranteed payments continue and are payable to the estate.
For example, a 10-year guaranteed annuity that has been paying for 3 years: 7 years of remaining payments must be valued and included on IHT410.
The value is the present value of the remaining guaranteed payments — the insurer will calculate this.
02
Joint-life annuities
A joint-life annuity continues to pay to the surviving spouse or civil partner after the first death.
There is no IHT implication on the first death (the annuity simply continues paying to the survivor as part of their own income).
Nothing is reported on IHT410 for a joint-life annuity on the first death.
03
Value protection and capital protection annuities
Some modern annuities have 'value protection' (the insurer pays a lump sum if the annuitant dies before receiving payments equal to the original purchase price).
This lump sum, if payable to the estate rather than to a trust or nominated beneficiary, must be included on IHT410.
An annuity is a policy that pays a regular income for life.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) · IHT410❦
Many people file IHT410 themselves — that is what this walkthrough is for. If the estate behind it has stopped being simple — inheritance tax to pay, a trust, foreign assets, a dispute — Signum, Valoren’s own specialist desk, can take it on, and we say so plainly: it starts with a free intake, and if you do not need us, we will tell you. Prefer an independent adviser? STEP and the Chartered Institute of Taxation both keep public member directories, and neither pays Valoren a referral fee.
FAQ
IHT410 questions, answered.
IHT410 is the Inheritance Tax schedule for life assurance and annuities.
It reports two things: life insurance policies and investment bonds that were not written in trust (and so form part of the estate), and annuities that have a value still payable after death — for example a guaranteed-period annuity.
It is a supporting schedule to the IHT400 account, not a standalone return.
The executor named in the will, or the administrator if there is no will, completes IHT410 as one of the schedules attached to the IHT400 account.
The insurer or bond provider supplies the date-of-death valuations; the executor decides which policies belong on the form.
It is filed alongside IHT400, which must reach HMRC within 12 months of the end of the month in which the person died.
Any Inheritance Tax owed falls due earlier — by the end of the sixth month, with interest running from that point — so it is worth requesting policy valuations early.
No. IHT410 is a free schedule to the IHT400 account — there is no separate filing fee.
The only cost is any Inheritance Tax due on the estate as a whole once all the schedules are added together.
Ask the insurer directly: 'Was this policy written in trust, and can you provide the trust deed?'
Policies in trust usually have a trust deed or expression-of-wish form on file and name beneficiaries other than 'the estate'.
If the insurer holds no trust documentation and the policy simply pays to the estate or the legal personal representatives, it is likely not in trust and belongs on IHT410.
Where the position is unclear, check HMRC's guidance (IHTM20000 onwards) and consider professional advice.
Assuming a life insurance policy is automatically in trust and leaving it off the form.
Many older endowment and mortgage-protection policies were never written in trust.
If a policy pays to 'the estate' or 'the legal personal representatives' rather than to named beneficiaries, it is almost certainly part of the estate and must be included — and leaving it off understates the Inheritance Tax due.
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Where this fits
IHT410 is one form. The file behind it is the rest.
Forms are easier when the records are ready.
For IHT410, that means each policy's provider and reference number, the date-of-death valuation letter for every policy and investment bond, any trust deed or expression-of-wish form that shows whether a policy was written in trust, and the insurer's figure for any remaining guaranteed-period annuity value.
When you're ready — not before — our £179 Executor's First Hour walks you through registering the death, notifying banks and pensions, and getting probate started, in the right order. The free checklist above covers the essentials; this is for when you'd rather have a hand to hold. Executor's First Hour — £179 →
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)·22 fields·No separate fee·20 minutes with Valoren
The return this attaches to
This is one schedule. It attaches to the IHT400 — the main Inheritance Tax account — which is where every schedule you complete comes together.
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