How to value all assets #
For Inheritance Tax purposes, you have to value all the assets as if each item had been sold on the open market on the date the person died. This is called the ‘open market value’. It represents the realistic selling price of an asset, not an insurance value or replacement value.
You should be able to value some of the estate assets quite easily, for example, money in bank accounts, stocks and shares. In other instances, for example, houses and land, you will may need the help of a professional valuer. When you employ a valuer, make sure you ask them to give you the ‘open market value’ of the asset.
Accurate values are not needed when the estate is very small #
If the gross value of the estate is likely to be below £250,000, or the estate is exempt because it is passing to a spouse or civil partner or to a qualifying charity, you can estimate the value of the assets. You should not guess at a value, but try to work out an estimate based on the information available to you.