IHT411

IHT411: listed stocks and shares

Last checked 5 October 2026 against HMRC’s forms, guidance and the law · rules version 2026-10-05.1

Schedule IHT411 lists the listed shares, unit trusts, investment trusts, OEICs, stocks and shares ISAs and UK government stocks the person owned when they died, each valued at the date of death. For shares, HMRC's IHT400 Notes use the "quarter-up" price: the lower of the two end-of-day prices plus a quarter of the difference between them. The box 1 total goes to IHT400 box 62, the box 2 total to box 63, and any dividends or interest due at the date of death to box 64.

What IHT411 is for

Question 38 on the IHT400 asks: "Did the deceased own any listed stocks and shares or stocks and shares ISAs (excluding control holdings)?" If the answer is yes, the personal representative (the executor named in the will, or the administrator if there is no will) fills in Schedule IHT411.

The schedule has two lists:

Box 1, UK government and municipal securities: Treasury Stock, Exchequer Stock, War Loan and other stock on the Bank of England register, and municipal stocks, mortgages and debentures.
Box 2, listed stocks, shares and investments that did not give the deceased control of the company: shares on the Stock Exchange Daily Official List, unit trusts, investment trusts, Open-Ended Investment Companies (OEICs), shares held in an Individual Savings Account (ISA), and foreign shares listed on the London Stock Exchange or other UK exchanges.

Some holdings belong elsewhere:

Shares on markets HMRC does not treat as "listed", such as the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), shares in private companies, and any holding that gave the deceased control of a company go on Schedule IHT412 (IHT411, page 1).
Foreign shares not listed on a UK exchange go on Schedule IHT417, "Foreign assets".
Shares owned jointly with someone else go on Schedule IHT404 as other jointly owned assets.
A cash ISA goes on Schedule IHT406 with the bank and building society accounts. Only uninvested cash inside a stocks and shares ISA goes on IHT411.

What to gather first

A list of every holding: the company, the nominal value and the type of share, for example "A N Other Plc 10p ordinary shares" (IHT400 Notes).
Share certificates, the latest dividend statements, and statements from any platform, broker, ISA or unit trust manager.
Letters to the companies' registrars or the fund managers asking for the holding at the date of death and any dividend declared but not yet paid. GOV.UK suggests telling each company the number of shares, the company details and the share certificate number if you have it.
For UK government stock, a value from a bank or stockbroker, or from the UK Debt Management Office website (IHT400 Notes).

The IHT400 Notes say: "You do not have to get a professional valuation for quoted stocks and shares." Many executors still ask the bank or broker for a probate valuation as at the date of death. If you have a stockbroker's valuation, IHT411 says "you need only copy the totals for each category of share to the form and enclose a copy of the valuation". Which route to take is the executor's decision.

How to value listed shares

The legal test is the price the shares "might reasonably be expected to fetch if sold in the open market" at the time of death (Inheritance Tax Act 1984, section 160). HMRC's IHT400 Notes turn that into practical steps.

The quarter-up price. A share valuing service gives the end-of-day quotation as a range, such as 1091p to 1101p. The Notes say: "This is the lower price, plus one quarter of the difference between the 2 prices." In HMRC's example the price is 1091p plus a quarter of 10p, which gives 1093.5p.

Multiply by the holding. "If the deceased held 1,250 shares and the price was 1093.5p, the value for the holding is £13,668.75" (IHT400 Notes).

Unit trusts. "Sometimes, for unit trusts, the newspaper may show 2 prices. Take the lower one." Newspapers do not show dividends due on unit trusts, so ask the fund managers what to include as the declared dividend.

The right day. Take the price on the day the person died. The Notes warn that "a newspaper printed on the day the deceased died will have share prices for the day before".

A death at a weekend or on a bank holiday. If the stock exchange was closed on the day of death, take the price for the last day it was open or the next day it opened, "whichever is the lower". HMRC's Notes say you can choose separately for each holding. For a death on Saturday 17 January 2026, that means the prices for Friday 16 January or Monday 19 January 2026.

Dividends and the "XD" marking. If a dividend had been declared but not paid when the person died, the shares are marked "XD" (ex-dividend). The dividend belongs to the estate: "multiply the number of shares by the dividend per share" (IHT400 Notes). Other markings change the value too: "IK" and "IM" add accrued interest on gilts and loan stocks, while "XC", "XR" and "XE" mean the deceased was entitled to new shares, rights or warrants, which should be included with the holding.

Filling in IHT411, box by box

Box 1, UK government and municipal securities. For each stock: a description (for example "3.5% War Loan"), the amount held, the market price per unit at the date of death, the total value at the date of death, and any interest due to the date of death. Copy the total value to IHT400 box 62.
Box 2, listed stocks, shares and investments. For each holding: the company and type of share, or the full name of the unit trust and the type of unit (for example accumulation units); the number held; the price per unit at the date of death; the total value; and any dividend or interest due to the date of death. For a stocks and shares ISA, list the investments and "include a figure for any uninvested cash but not for any other cash or insurance policies". Copy the total value to IHT400 box 63.
Dividends and interest. Add the dividend and interest columns of boxes 1 and 2. That total goes in IHT400 box 64, not in box 62 or 63.
Enclose copies of any stockbroker's or platform valuation, and keep the letters from registrars and fund managers in case HMRC asks for them.

Boxes 62, 63 and 64 are all in column A of the IHT400. The tax on listed shares cannot be paid by instalments: it is paid with the account, before probate.

Worked example

These figures are invented and the companies are imaginary. Someone died on Tuesday 17 February 2026 and owned:

Holding	Price at the date of death	Value
Company A plc, 2,000 ordinary shares	range 410p to 418p, quarter-up 412p	£8,240.00
Company B plc, 1,200 ordinary shares	range 1090p to 1100p, quarter-up 1092.5p	£13,110.00
Global Equity Fund accumulation units, 5,000 units held in a stocks and shares ISA	two prices, 250p and 254p: take the lower	£12,500.00
Uninvested cash in the same ISA		£350.00
IHT411 box 2 total, to IHT400 box 63		£34,200

Company A's shares were marked XD with a declared dividend of 9.5p a share that had not been paid. The dividend column shows 2,000 × 9.5p = £190, and that goes to IHT400 box 64. There were no government stocks, so box 1 and IHT400 box 62 are £0.

So the shares add £34,390 (boxes 63 and 64) to column A of the IHT400. Because the tax on them cannot be paid by instalments, any tax they bear is due by 31 August 2026, the end of the sixth month after the month of death, with interest from 1 September 2026.

Working on an IHT400 for an estate?

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Software to help you prepare your own IHT400. Not legal or tax advice. We do not apply for probate. Not affiliated with HMRC.

Paying the tax from the investments

The Direct Payment Scheme can be used before probate. Since 1 October 2024, brokers and investment management firms can be asked, on page 2 of Schedule IHT423, to sell all or part of the deceased's holdings and send the money straight to HMRC. The account must be in the deceased's sole name. See IHT423 and the Direct Payment Scheme and paying Inheritance Tax before probate.

If the shares are sold for less after the death

The IHT400 Notes say that if listed shares "are sold within 1 year of the date of death" for less than the value included on the IHT400, HMRC may be able to reduce the Inheritance Tax. GOV.UK says the claim is made on form IHT35.

Changes in value are reported on a corrective account (form C4). GOV.UK says to tell HMRC "once the values are final or 18 months after the person died, whichever is sooner", or earlier if, for example, shares have been sold at a loss.

Common mistakes

Taking prices from a newspaper printed on the day of death, which shows the day before.
Using the higher or the middle price instead of the quarter-up price, or the higher of a unit trust's two prices.
Missing a dividend declared before the death but paid afterwards (the XD marking), or putting it in box 63 instead of box 64.
Listing AIM or private company shares on IHT411 instead of IHT412.
Putting a cash ISA on IHT411. Only uninvested cash within a stocks and shares ISA belongs here; a cash ISA goes on IHT406.
Listing jointly owned shares on IHT411 instead of IHT404.
Deducting a manager's fees from a valuation. For Personal Equity Plans, the Notes say not to include "any deductions for managers' fees".

What happens next

IHT411 goes to HMRC with the IHT400 and the other schedules. If you have not heard from HMRC 14 weeks after sending the IHT400, no further checks will be carried out (GOV.UK). For the rest of the account, see how to fill in the IHT400, and for other belongings, household and personal goods on IHT407. Interest on tax paid late is explained in Inheritance Tax interest and late payment.

Common questions

How are listed shares valued for Inheritance Tax?

At the date of death, using the quarter-up price: the lower of the two end-of-day prices plus a quarter of the difference between them, multiplied by the number of shares.

What if the person died at a weekend or on a bank holiday?

Take the price for the last day the stock exchange was open or the next day it opened, whichever is lower. HMRC’s notes say you can choose separately for each holding.

Do stocks and shares ISAs go on IHT411?

Yes. The investments in a stocks and shares ISA go in box 2, with any uninvested cash in the ISA. A cash ISA goes on Schedule IHT406 instead.

Where do dividends due at the date of death go?

Dividends declared but not paid when the person died, shown by an XD marking, go in the dividend column of IHT411, and the total goes to IHT400 box 64.

Do AIM shares go on IHT411?

No. Shares on markets HMRC does not treat as listed, such as AIM, and shares in private companies go on Schedule IHT412.

What if the shares are sold for less after the death?

If listed shares are sold within 12 months of the death for less than the value on the IHT400, HMRC may be able to reduce the tax. The claim is made on form IHT35.