Farra is a death administration assistant for UK families. Get step-by-step guidance for registering a death, applying for probate, notifying banks, and managing bereavement admin. From essential documents to practical checklists, Farra simplifies estate paperwork and funeral-related tasks so you can focus on what matters.
ISAs are included in the estate for inheritance tax purposes — there is no IHT exemption for ISAs on death. However, there are important rules about when tax-free status ends and a valuable allowance for surviving spouses. This guide explains how to value each type of ISA and what options are available to the beneficiaries. For an overview of all estate valuation, see our executor first steps guide.
When the ISA holder dies, the ISA enters a special transitional state. For a Cash ISA, interest continues to accrue but interest accrued after death is subject to income tax (it is no longer sheltered). The ISA effectively becomes a taxable savings account from the date of death.
For a Stocks & Shares ISA, HMRC introduced "continuing account of deceased investor" rules, allowing the wrapper to continue for up to 3 years after the date of death (or until the administration is complete if sooner). During this period, the investments remain within the wrapper and growth continues to be tax-free. This can be useful if the estate takes time to administer.
Contact the bank or building society holding the Cash ISA in writing, providing:
The bank will issue a written confirmation of the balance. This figure is used directly as the probate valuation. Interest that had accrued but not yet been credited at the date of death should also be included (the bank will confirm this).
A Stocks & Shares ISA is valued at the bid prices of all holdings on the date of death. Contact the ISA provider (e.g. Hargreaves Lansdown, Fidelity, AJ Bell, Vanguard) and request a "date of death valuation statement." Most providers will generate this automatically once notified of the death.
If the ISA holds directly listed shares, these are valued using the quarter-up rule as described in our guide to valuing shares for probate. If the ISA holds unit trusts or OEICs, these are valued at the bid price on the date of death.
This is one of the most valuable planning tools available to surviving spouses and civil partners. The APS allows a surviving spouse to subscribe an additional amount into their own ISA equal to the value of their late spouse's ISA at the date of death — effectively inheriting the ISA wrapper.
Key points about the APS:
Want to make sure you're doing this right?
Executors are personally liable for errors. In 2 minutes, we'll give you a checklist specific to this estate and flag your risks.
Inform surviving spouses of the APS opportunity early in the administration — the 3-year deadline can pass quickly, particularly in complex estates.
There is no inheritance tax exemption specifically for ISAs. The full value of the ISA at the date of death is included in the taxable estate alongside all other assets. The IHT nil-rate band and any other exemptions apply to the whole estate, not specifically to ISA assets.
For the inheritance tax calculation and how thresholds work, see our inheritance tax guide for 2026–27.
ISA values are reported in the appropriate schedule of IHT400:
For a complete guide to completing IHT400, see our IHT400 form guide.
Once probate is granted, you can close the ISA and transfer the proceeds to the estate account. Alternatively, if the ISA is being passed directly to a beneficiary, the ISA provider may allow direct transfer (contact them to check their process).
Note that once an ISA is closed or transferred out of the wrapper, the tax-free status is permanently lost for that beneficiary — they cannot re-shelter the proceeds unless they use their own annual ISA allowance.
For the broader process of collecting assets after probate, see our guide to collecting bank accounts after probate and our estate administration checklist. Start your personalised task list with our free estate administration tool.
1 in 3 probate applications are sent back. As executor, the errors are your responsibility.
Answer 5 questions in under 2 minutes. We'll give you a checklist specific to this estate, flag anything that increases your personal risk, and tell you exactly what to do — and in what order.
Free to check · 2 minutes · No account needed · £179 for your full probate pack