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← Calculators/Rules from 6 April 2027·Last reviewed

Pension IHT (April 2027)

Compare an estate before the pension change and from 6 April 2027, including its value, available allowances and estimated inheritance tax.

Free, no sign-up. Runs the same engine and versioned tax-year config as the signed-in suite. Your calculator figures stay in this browser unless you choose to share or rerun them in the signed-in workbench. How we verify the numbers.

— In short

From 6 April 2027, many unused pension funds and death benefits enter the estate for inheritance tax. This calculator shows a simple before-and-after comparison: the estate with the pensions left outside, then the position with the straightforward pension values included under the new rules. It shows the change in the estate, available allowances and estimated inheritance tax. It is a planning comparison, not an IHT return or personal recommendation.

— Your estate

Add what could be left behind.

Use today’s approximate values. Enter zero where something does not apply.

Enter only the main home here. Put rental or other property under Other assets.

Bank accounts, cash ISAs and similar savings.

Investments outside pensions.

For example, rental property, valuable possessions or other property.

Debts not already deducted from the home value.

Unused pensions

Add each straightforward pension value that could remain at death.

Use the best available planning value.

  • Enter an amount in pounds.

The quick result totals these values under one straightforward set of assumptions. The full calculator records each scheme, evidence and destination separately.

Will all of this main-home interest pass to children or grandchildren?

This can affect the extra property allowance.

Age at death

This does not change the estate’s IHT figure, but it can change the beneficiary’s income-tax position.

Add unused allowances from a spouse or civil partner

Only switch this on if the full allowance is available.

Only switch this on if the full allowance is available.

Does anything unusual apply?

Tick anything that fits. We will send the figures to the full calculator instead of showing an over-simple answer.

Important assumptions
  • This is a planning estimate for deaths from 6 April 2027.
  • The pension and estate pass to non-exempt beneficiaries, such as children.
  • No trusts, recent gifts or special reliefs change the calculation.
  • The pension is covered by the new rules and the values entered are complete.
Full calculation scope
Pension and provider value
  • long-term UK residence is confirmed
  • the pension and scheme are within section 150A scope
  • the provider value represents potential benefits immediately before death
  • there is no amount-level statutory exclusion
What is included and who receives it
  • the entered benefit is the complete in-scope pension set
  • the statutory-exclusion set is complete
  • the pension destination-allocation set is complete
  • the entered free-estate asset and liability set is complete
  • the whole entered pension value goes to one non-exempt recipient
Allowances and exemptions
  • the entered free estate has no spouse or civil-partner exemption
  • the entered free estate has no charity exemption
  • the entered free estate has no other exemption
  • there is no lifetime nil-rate-band usage
  • the free-estate title mapping is complete
  • the pension title mapping is complete
  • the qualifying-residence amount passing to direct descendants is evidenced
  • the transferable NRB selection is evidenced
  • the transferable RNRB selection is evidenced
Cases that need professional review
  • the estate has one general Schedule 1A component
  • one uniform IHT rate applies
  • there is no survivorship complexity
  • there is no settled-property complexity
  • there is no lifetime-transfer complexity
  • there is no relief complexity
  • there is no grossing-up complexity
  • there is no unsupported charity interaction or component merging
  • there is no Schedule 1A paragraph-8 opt-out
  • there is no other listed general-IHT complexity
— Your estimate

Before and after the pension change.

Add the home and pension values to see the comparison.

Then tell us who receives the home and choose the age at death. The result updates here.

Choose who receives the home.

Choose the age at death.

For planning and illustration purposes only. Verify all inputs against source documents. This tool does not constitute financial or tax advice.

Print this quick illustration now. Signed-in users can add a client or file reference before saving it as a PDF.

— How it's calculated

Add the familiar parts of the estate

Enter the main home after its mortgage, cash and savings, investments, other assets, other debts and unused pensions. Put rental or additional property under other assets. Keeping these values separate makes the result easy to check.

IHTA 1984 ss.7, 8A–8M and Sch 1A · HMRC IHT400 notes

Tell us who receives the home

If all of the main-home interest entered passes to children or grandchildren, an extra property allowance may be available. A partial interest or a different route needs the full calculator. The comparison also applies the £2 million taper.

IHTA 1984 ss.8D–8M · HMRC IHT435 guidance

Compare before and from 6 April 2027

The first card treats the pension as outside the estate, reflecting the usual position before the change. The second includes it from 6 April 2027. Age 75 affects the beneficiary’s income tax rather than the estate’s IHT, so that point is explained separately instead of being mixed into the headline figure.

HMRC pension-IHT technical note (May 2026) · GOV.UK pension death-benefit tax guidance

— How to use Pension IHT (April 2027)

  1. Step 1

    Add the estate values

    Enter the main home after its mortgage, cash, investments, other assets, debts and unused pensions. Put rental or additional property under other assets and use zero where a category does not apply.

  2. Step 2

    Say whether the home goes to children

    Choose Yes only if all of the main-home interest entered passes to children or grandchildren. Use the unusual-case route for a partial interest.

  3. Step 3

    Add any transferred allowances

    Switch on the transferred nil-rate band or residence nil-rate band only if the full allowance is available from an earlier spouse or civil partner.

  4. Step 4

    Check whether the case is unusual

    Read the assumptions. If a trust, relief, lifetime gift, survivorship, non-UK residence, charity issue or excluded benefit applies, tick it under “Does anything unusual apply?” and continue in the full calculator.

  5. Step 5

    Compare the two positions

    Read the estate counted for inheritance tax and the estimated bill before the pension change and from 6 April 2027.

  6. Step 6

    Optionally compare an annuity

    Use the dated age-based benchmark for a rough illustration, or enter a real single-life quote with no guarantee, value protection or survivor/dependant pension. The annuity income remains separate from the estate IHT calculation.

— Worked example

6 April 2027 · £1.8m estate excluding the pension · £500k qualifying home · £500k pension · no transferred allowances
Counted for IHT before 6 April 2027
£1,800,000.00
Estimated IHT before the pension change
£520,000.00
Counted for IHT from 6 April 2027
£2,300,000.00
Estimated IHT from 6 April 2027
£780,000.00
Estimated IHT increase
£260,000.00

The pension also removes £150,000.00 of residence allowance in this example. This is a planning estimate, not an HMRC assessment.

— Frequently asked questions

Do all pensions enter the estate for inheritance tax from April 2027?

No. Many unused pension funds and death benefits enter the estate from 6 April 2027, but statutory exclusions and exemptions still apply. The quick comparison lists its assumptions and sends cases with unusual features to the full calculator.

What pension value should I enter?

For planning, enter the best available estimate of unused pension funds and death benefits that could remain at death. After a death, use the final provider valuation. Complex or excluded benefits should be reviewed in the full calculator.

Does adding a pension affect the residence nil-rate band?

It can. Pension inclusion can raise the estate value used for the residence allowance taper. The calculator applies that taper to the from-April-2027 result and includes the allowance in each comparison card.

Does the RNRB taper apply once my pension is in my estate?

Yes. From 6 April 2027 an in-scope pension counts towards the taper value, which is measured after liabilities but before exemptions and reliefs. If that value exceeds £2 million, the residence nil-rate band is reduced by £1 for every £2 over the threshold — so an included pension can taper the band even where the pension itself passes to an exempt recipient.

What does the estimated inheritance-tax change mean?

It is the difference between the estate calculation with the pension left outside and the calculation with it included from 6 April 2027. It is a planning comparison, not a tax assessment or a decision about who must pay.

Why does age 75 matter?

Age 75 usually affects income tax on inherited pension benefits, not the estate inheritance-tax calculation. If death is at age 75 or over, beneficiaries will usually pay income tax at their own rate when they take benefits. The calculator explains this separately and does not add an invented income-tax figure to the estate bill.

Does the annuity illustration estimate a market rate?

It can show a rough age-based illustration using a dated published best-buy benchmark, or use a real annual quote that you enter. The benchmark is not a market average or personalised quote. Both paths assume a single-life annuity with no guarantee, value protection or survivor/dependant pension, and that the taxable income is spent rather than added to the estate.

Does the copied link include my figures?

Yes. The filled calculator link contains the financial figures and closed choices needed to reproduce the result, so anyone with that link can read them. It never includes names, pension labels or policy details. Continuing to the private calculator uses a separate opaque, one-time key instead.

— Related