Executors complete one Schedule IHT414 for each agricultural holding on which they deduct agricultural relief, with a plan of the holding and the property details on IHT405. The form asks how the deceased acquired the holding, what farming took place over seven years, exactly what the deceased did in the last two years, how any lettings were set up, and who lived in each farmhouse and cottage, and HMRC uses those answers to brief the District Valuer.

When is IHT414 needed and what goes with it?

IHT414 is a schedule to the IHT400 and is used whenever agricultural relief is deducted on death. The form asks for a separate copy for each agricultural holding and a plan showing its location and extent. The property itself is described on Schedule IHT405, which covers houses, buildings and other interests in property. The IHT400 Notes say the value goes in box 68 of the IHT400 and the relief in box 93. HMRC’s caseworkers need the plan before they can refer the case to the District Valuer, and they check the description against any plan and professional valuation (IHTM24255). For the full account, see completing the IHT400.

How should the ownership questions be answered?

  • Box 2, acquisition. Say when and how the deceased acquired the holding: bought, inherited or received as a gift. This tells HMRC whether the seven year ownership test in section 117 is met. If the holding came by gift or inheritance, HMRC may pull the earlier inheritance tax file to see how relief was treated then. Ownership of inherited property runs from the date of the earlier death.
  • Box 3, contract for sale. Relief is not due on property subject to a binding contract at death, meaning contracts exchanged or, in Scotland, missives concluded, but not completed. Mark the part sold on the plan.
  • Box 4, planning consents. Unimplemented consents can show that market value exceeds agricultural value. HMRC may also ask how far the property was really farmed just before death where a consent covers residential conversion or removal of an occupancy condition.

How much detail does HMRC want on the farming?

Box 5 covers the day to day farming on the holding over the seven years before death, or the period of ownership if shorter. Box 6 asks what the deceased personally did in the last two years, including the actual tasks and how many hours a week they spent on them. The IHT400 Notes ask, for each occupier, whether the farm was arable, pastoral or mixed, which crops were usually grown and which livestock grazed, with approximate numbers and acreage for each type. Executors should say if activity stopped and why, and attach any grazing licence or give its full terms.

HMRC instructs caseworkers not to accept answers such as general farming unless the detail appears elsewhere on file (IHTM24255). Box 6 is where most farmhouse claims are won or lost, because it shows whether the deceased was a working farmer or a retired or lifestyle owner whose involvement was negligible.

For deaths from 6 April 2025, the Notes say environmental value of farmland managed under a qualifying environmental agreement with government, a devolved administration, a public body, a local authority or an approved responsible body is eligible for relief, so details of any such agreement belong in box 5.

How do the letting questions set the rate?

Boxes 7 to 10 ask whether the holding was let, to whom, when the letting began and for how long. A copy of the tenancy agreement should be sent. Box 11 records whether relief is claimed at 50%, 100% or both. The form explains that 100% is available, up to the £2.5 million allowance for deaths on or after 6 April 2026, where the owner had vacant possession, for example by farming the holding or granting a short term grazing licence, where the letting began after 31 August 1995, or in some cases for tenancies that began before 10 March 1981. Above the allowance relief is at 50%, and the allowance must be apportioned across all qualifying property in the estate. Where the pre 1981 rule is relied on, the Notes ask for the reasons in the additional information box. The interaction with business relief is explained in business relief vs agricultural relief.

What evidence supports a farmhouse or cottage claim?

Boxes 12 to 15 are completed separately for each house or cottage. They ask for the address, any dates the property was empty, even temporarily, in the seven years before death, who lived there and when, the extent of each occupant’s involvement in the farming, and the type of any tenancy and the rent. The form warns that relief depends on who lived there and whether the house is of a character appropriate to the farm; the tests are covered in agricultural relief on farmhouses.

Supporting evidence that helps:

  • the floor area and room count of the house, and photographs from all sides, which HMRC requests where size may be an issue (IHTM24052);
  • full tenancy details for any farmland let away, because letting is a negative factor for the house (IHTM24163);
  • farm accounts, which HMRC forwards to the Valuation Office Agency as evidence of the scale of farming (IHTM24051);
  • for any period in hospital or care, the reason, length, readiness of the house for a return and how bills were handled (IHTM24076).

What should box 16 say about farm buildings?

Describe each building, who used it and for what. The form says phrases such as general storage or agricultural purposes are insufficient. HMRC looks closely at buildings storing redundant or non agricultural equipment, buildings surplus to a tenant’s needs where the farmland is let on short arrangements, and buildings with planning applications (IHTM24255).

What if relief is deducted on a lifetime gift?

Boxes 17 to 20 apply only where relief is claimed on a gift that has become chargeable because of the death. They ask whether, throughout the period from gift to death, the recipient owned the holding, it remained agricultural property, it was occupied for agriculture, and it was not under a binding contract for sale at the end. These reflect the additional conditions in section 124A (IHTM24173).

What does a worked example look like?

Illustration only. Box 6 for a farmer who kept sheep might read: “Until March 2027 the deceased lambed and managed a flock of 180 ewes on 60 acres, checking stock twice daily, arranging shearing and feed purchases, and keeping the flock records, about 35 hours a week; a neighbour helped at lambing.” That gives HMRC tasks, scale and time. An answer of “general farming, assisted by family” will prompt a letter asking for the same detail months later, and may lead HMRC to doubt the farmhouse claim.

What happens after the form is sent?

HMRC refers the holding to the District Valuer. If the District Valuer thinks a house or building is not agricultural property, it issues an interim report, HMRC’s Technical team decides whether to pursue it, and unresolved cases may lead to a report prepared for appeal and a tribunal hearing (IHTM24164). Common mistakes are one form for several separate holdings, no plan, vague answers to boxes 5, 6 and 16, and no dates for empty periods. See also agricultural property relief and HMRC checks on IHT accounts.

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Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 19 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.