Completing the SA900 Estate Tax Return: Executor Guide UK 2026

When do I need to file an SA900 estate tax return?

1The £500 de minimis and the SA900 filing trigger are two different tests: £500 decides whether there is tax to pay at all, and the complex-estate criteria (over £2.5m, over £500,000 of asset sales in a tax year, or over £10,000 of Income Tax and CGT) decide whether you must register and file an SA900 rather than settle informally.
2SA900 is a Self Assessment return for the estate — it covers the income of the estate, not the deceased's personal income (which is covered by their final personal SA100).
3The administration period runs from the date of death to the date the estate is fully wound up — typically one or more full tax years.
4Income tax on estate income is charged at 20% (savings/non-dividend income) and 10.75% (dividends) — the estate has no personal allowance.
5Give each residuary beneficiary a form R185 (Estate Income) showing their share and the tax treated as borne — a beneficiary who asks for it in writing is legally entitled to it.

The SA900 is the annual Self Assessment tax return for the administration of a deceased person's estate. It covers income earned by the estate during the administration period, which is a separate tax calculation from the deceased's own final tax return. Filing obligations can span multiple tax years if administration is complex. For the broader estate administration context, see our executor first steps guide.

The Deceased's Final Tax Return vs SA900

These are two separate things — do not confuse them:

Return	What it covers	Who files it
Deceased's final SA100	The deceased's personal income from 6 April to the date of death in the final tax year	Executor, on behalf of deceased
Estate SA900	Income earned by the estate from the date of death until the estate is wound up	Executor, on behalf of estate

You may need to file one or more SA900 returns (one per tax year) if administration spans more than one April 5th.

The £500 Limit: What It Actually Decides

Section 24B of the Income Tax Act 2007 sets a "de minimis estates amount" of £500. If the personal representatives' net income for a tax year is equal to or less than £500, it is taken to be £0 and there is no income tax on it.

Two things follow that are routinely got wrong:

It is a cliff edge, not an allowance. If the estate's income for the year comes to more than £500, s.24B simply does not apply — the whole amount is taxable, and you do not deduct £500 from it first. GOV.UK puts the same rule for trusts as "tax is due on the full amount if the income is more than the tax-free amount".
It is per tax year, and it does not carry over. The test is applied to the aggregate income of the estate for each tax year separately. An administration that produces £300 in year one and £700 in year two does not get to net them off, or add two years of £500 together: year one is untaxed, year two is taxable on the whole £700.

Common sources of estate income during administration:

Interest on estate bank accounts.
Dividends on shares held by the estate.
Rental income from property in the estate.
Interest on National Savings products.
Business income if the deceased ran a business that continues during administration.

If the estate's income for a tax year is £500 or less, there is no tax to pay on it — but you should still record it in the estate accounts.

When Is an SA900 Actually Required?

Having tax to pay is not the same as having to file a Trust and Estate Tax Return. Most estates never file one. GOV.UK requires a personal representative to register the estate — which is what produces the UTR you need to file an SA900 — only if any one of these applies:

the estate is worth more than £2.5 million at the date of death;
the value of assets the personal representative sells in a single tax year is more than £500,000;
the total Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax due for the period between the date of death and the date the estate is settled is more than £10,000.

Below all three, HMRC's informal payment arrangements apply instead: the same conditions appear from the other side in HMRC's manual at TSEM7410, which allows an estate to be dealt with informally where it was valued at less than £2.5 million on death, the total Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax due is less than £10,000, and the proceeds of assets sold in any one tax year are less than £500,000. In practice that covers the large majority of estates: you write to HMRC with the income and gains figures and pay what is due, without a return.

Where registration is required, the deadline is 5 October following the tax year in which the estate first has taxable income or chargeable gains.

Tax Rates on Estate Income

Personal representatives are not trustees for income tax and do not pay the trust rates. They pay at the basic rate on savings and other income and at the dividend ordinary rate on dividends, whatever the size of the estate:

Income Type	Rate
Bank interest (savings income)	20%
Rental income	20%
Dividends	10.75%

The estate has no personal allowance — all income is taxable from the first pound (unlike an individual who has a £12,570 personal allowance). However, if administration is completed quickly (within the same tax year as death), income may be modest.

How to Register the Estate with HMRC

If the estate meets one of the three criteria above, register it through GOV.UK's "Register an estate as a personal representative" service, which runs on the Trust Registration Service. HMRC's Trusts helpline is 0300 322 9640 if you need to speak to someone.

Registering produces a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) for the estate, separate from the deceased's personal UTR — GOV.UK says usually within 15 working days. Use that UTR on all SA900 filings.

Filing Deadlines

SA900 follows the standard Self Assessment deadlines:

31 October following the end of the tax year for the paper SA900.
31 January following the end of the tax year to file electronically.
Payment of tax is also due by 31 January following the tax year end.

One practical catch: HMRC's own free online Self Assessment service does not handle the Trust and Estate Tax Return. Filing electronically means using commercial software; otherwise it is the paper SA900 by 31 October.

Late filing attracts a £100 penalty (plus further penalties if more than 3 months late). Late payment attracts interest from 31 January.

R185 (Estate Income) — Certificates for Beneficiaries

HMRC's form is R185 (Estate Income) — you will sometimes see it called R185E, but that is not its name. Once the income tax has been settled, give each residuary beneficiary one showing:

The beneficiary's share of estate income.
The income tax already paid by the estate on their behalf.

Beneficiaries need R185E to complete their own tax returns. Non- taxpayers may be able to reclaim the tax paid; additional rate taxpayers may owe additional tax.

R185 (Estate Income) can be downloaded from GOV.UK. It is not filed with HMRC — you issue it to the beneficiary. Note also that section 682A of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 turns this into a duty you can be held to: if a residuary beneficiary asks in writing for a statement of their estate income and the tax treated as borne on it, the personal representative must provide it, and the duty is enforceable by the person who asked.

Completing the Deceased's Final Tax Return

In addition to SA900, you may also need to file the deceased's own final personal tax return (SA100) covering the period from 6 April to the date of death. This covers their personal income — pension, salary, rental income, etc. — up to the date of death.

Contact HMRC to obtain the deceased's tax records and any outstanding liabilities. The final personal tax liability is a debt of the estate and should be paid before distribution.

For the full estate administration process, see our estate administration checklist. For distributing the estate, see our guide to distributing cash to beneficiaries.

Related Guides