By Rocco Clayfield, Founder & Director, GoldPaid Ltd · Published 6 August 2026
Two taxes, two different moments
Inheritance Tax looks at what the estate was worth on the day the person died. Capital Gains Tax looks at what happened to an asset afterwards. Jewellery in an estate routinely passes through both: valued for Inheritance Tax at the date of death, then sold months later for whatever the market pays that week. The two figures are rarely identical, and CGT is concerned only with the difference between them.
The base cost resets at the date of death
HMRC’s helpsheet HS282 puts it plainly: assets owned by the deceased on the date of their death are treated as passing to the personal representatives on the date of death at their market value on that date. That value becomes the estate’s base cost. Sell the jewellery later for the same figure and there is no gain to tax. Sell for more, because the gold market has moved, and the difference is the gain. Sell for less and the estate has a loss.
This is the strongest practical argument for getting the date-of-death valuation right rather than approximate. An understated figure lowers the Inheritance Tax exposure and raises the Capital Gains Tax exposure by exactly the same amount; an overstated one does the reverse. A written, itemised assay showing each piece, its confirmed purity, its weight and the rate used is the kind of document that survives a question from either direction. Our guide to probate jewellery valuation covers what that document needs to contain.
What the estate can set against a gain
- The estate’s own annual exempt amount. HS282 gives personal representatives the full annual exempt amount for the period from the date of death to the following 5 April, however short that period is, and for the two tax years after the year of death. For 2026 to 2027 that amount is £3,000. After those three periods the estate has none.
- Allowable costs of sale. Selling expenses come off the gain in the ordinary way. HMRC also allows the costs of establishing title to be claimed on the scale in Statement of Practice SP02/04, or as actual expenditure where that is known.
- The £6,000 chattels rule. It does not disappear because the seller is an executor. Jewellery is tangible, movable property, so a piece disposed of for £6,000 or less generally produces nothing to report, with marginal relief applying above that.
The rate is where estates differ most from individuals. For disposals on or after 30 October 2024 the rate of CGT applying to all assets for personal representatives is 24%: a flat higher rate, not the two-band structure an individual gets.
The timing decision: sell as the estate, or transfer first?
HS282 also confirms that no CGT arises when assets are passed to legatees. The beneficiary is treated as acquiring them on the date of death at their market value on that date, whenever the transfer physically happens. That creates a genuine choice for an executor holding jewellery with a gain in prospect.
Sell as the estate and one annual exempt amount covers the whole disposal, with the balance taxed at 24%. Appropriate the items to the beneficiaries first and each beneficiary brings their own annual exempt amount, their own basic-rate band at 18%, and their own £6,000 chattels limit per item. On a modest lot the difference is nothing at all. On a substantial one it can be the entire tax bill. It is also a decision with legal consequences for how the estate is administered, so it belongs with the estate’s solicitor or accountant rather than with a general guide or a buyer.
When the £6,000 rule quietly does the work
Most estate jewellery never reaches a CGT computation at all, because the chattels threshold is applied item by item rather than to the parcel. Fifteen rings, a few chains and a watch, each individually worth well under £6,000, are fifteen or more separate disposals, none of which crosses the reporting threshold, even where the lot together comes to a meaningful figure.
The exception is sets. HS293 defines a set as items that are similar and complementary to each other and worth more together than separately, and where set pieces go to the same person or to connected persons, the £6,000 limit applies to all of the set collectively rather than to each member individually. HS293 illustrates the point with a 32-piece antique chess set that cost £3,200 and was sold piece by piece at £1,000 each: treated as a set, the whole £32,000 comes into scope and the chargeable gains are £28,800. Applied to an estate, a matched suite, a graduated set of dress rings or a full canteen of flatware is one chattel for this purpose.
What to keep, and what to file
- The date-of-death valuation, itemised, with the basis of valuation stated on it.
- The written offer or sale document for each item, showing purity, weight and the rate used.
- Any selling costs, with the evidence for them.
- A record of what was appropriated to which beneficiary, and on what date.
HMRC’s record-keeping guidance asks for receipts, bills and invoices showing the date and the amount, contracts for buying and selling the asset, and copies of any valuations, kept for at least a year after the Self Assessment deadline. Estates administered across several tax years should assume longer. Where a gain does need reporting, HMRC’s real time Capital Gains Tax service asks you to report by 31 December in the tax year after the gain and pay by 31 January; otherwise it goes on a return.
Sources
- HS282, death, personal representatives and legatees 2026: gov.uk HS282 (2026)
- HS293, personal possessions and Capital Gains Tax 2026: gov.uk HS293 (2026)
- Capital Gains Tax rates and allowances: gov.uk/guidance/capital-gains-tax-rates-and-allowances
- Capital Gains Tax record keeping: gov.uk/capital-gains-tax/records
Common questions
Does the estate pay CGT on jewellery simply given to a beneficiary?
No. HS282 is explicit that no CGT arises when assets are passed to legatees, and the beneficiary is treated as acquiring them at the date-of-death value. Any charge comes later, when the beneficiary sells.
How long does an estate get its own annual exempt amount?
The period from the date of death to the following 5 April, however short that is, plus the two tax years after the year of death. For 2026 to 2027 the amount is £3,000. After those periods the estate has no annual exempt amount.
What rate do executors pay?
For disposals on or after 30 October 2024, personal representatives pay 24% on all assets. Individuals pay 18% within their remaining basic-rate band and 24% above it, which is part of why the appropriation question is worth asking.
Can GoldPaid produce a probate valuation?
We produce a written, itemised commercial valuation of the metal and stone content from an XRF assay, which many executors use as supporting evidence. For a formal date-of-death valuation for Inheritance Tax, a qualified probate valuer is the right person. See the probate and inheritance page for how the two fit together.