Home / Guides / Who can value a car for probate

Probate & Inheritance Tax

Who Can Value a Car for Probate? HMRC Has a £1,500 Line

Published 2 November 2026 · 4 min read

Anyone can value a car for probate: the notes to the HMRC Inheritance Tax account (IHT400) set no qualification for the person who does it. They say you do not have to pay for a professional valuation of an ordinary second-hand car that you can estimate from public data, and they advise a professional valuation if an item may be worth more than £1,500 or you are not sure.

What does HMRC say about valuing a car?

In the HMRC notes we checked on 2 November 2026, cars are listed among "household and personal goods". Two sentences matter. The first says you do not have to get a professional valuation for ordinary household and personal goods where you can use publicly available data to estimate the value, and it gives second-hand cars as the example. The second says that if you think any item may be worth more than £1,500, or you are not sure, HMRC advises you to get a professional valuation.

Cars go on the household and personal goods schedule (IHT407). The same passage in the notes says that if you estimate the value, you use the open market value at the date of death, not an insurance or replacement value. You may still see £500 quoted online as the line for a car. That figure comes from older HMRC material, not from these notes.

Your car	What HMRC's notes say
Ordinary second-hand car, similar cars widely advertised	You can estimate the value yourself from public data
Item that may be worth more than £1,500, or you are not sure	HMRC advises a professional valuation
Damaged, modified, imported or classic car	Not named by HMRC. Our view: public data describes these cars poorly, so an estimate is hard to support

Need a documented figure for the car? Get a price for a probate car valuation.

Get a price for my probate car valuation

Your price is confirmed in writing before any work begins.

What value does the valuer need to give?

The open market value on the date of death. HMRC describes it as the realistic selling price: the price the item would have been likely to fetch if sold at auction or otherwise advertised publicly. The notes tell you to say so to the valuer: ask for the open market value of the items at the date of death. A car valued as it stood on that day, in the condition it was actually in, is what the form asks for.

Does the valuer need to be registered?

The HMRC notes do not name a qualification or a register for the person who values a car. What matters is that the figure is the open market value at the date of death and that you can show how you reached it. If HMRC asks, a report that sets out the comparable cars and the adjustments is easier to explain than a single advert.

What do we need to value a car for probate?

The make, model, VIN, mileage, the car's condition and photos, plus the date of death. We prepare an independent written valuation from those details, with the comparable cars and the reasoning set out, and it is usually with you the same day. It is a supporting document: we do not give tax advice and we do not act as an expert witness.

Frequently asked questions

Can I value the car myself for probate?

Yes, for an ordinary second-hand car you can estimate from public data. HMRC's notes say you do not have to get a professional valuation in that case, and that you use the open market value at the date of death.

When does HMRC advise a professional valuation?

HMRC's notes advise one if you think any item may be worth more than £1,500, or you are not sure of the value.

Is it the value today or the value at the date of death?

The value at the date of death, as the open market value. It is not an insurance value and not a replacement value.