New bereavement helpline

In June, HMRC launched a new, dedicated bereavement service helpline - in addition to the existing helpline for formal estates - which members can use when dealing with a deceased estate. 

The new bereavement helpline (0300 322 9620) can be used by agents and personal representatives who are looking for assistance with "informal" or non-complex estates. The HMRC staff on this line should be able to assist with the affairs of the deceased up to the date of death and any estate where the period of administration is being dealt with informally, without the need for a tax return.

Please note that from 1 July 2025, the HMRC postal address for help with tax affairs to date of death and the informal administration period had changed to: Bereavement Services, HM Revenue & Customs, BX9 2BS. This new address should better help HMRC to identify sensitive post. 

For formal estates, where the personal representatives need to file a tax return for the period of administration, the existing deceased estate helpline (0300 123 1071) can help if you need to register for and send a tax return for the administration period. 

The address for the formal administration of complex estates remains Bereavement Services, HM Revenue & Customs, BX9 1EL.

Further details can be found on the HMRC contact page for bereavement and deceased estate enquiries.

Progress chasing 

HMRC have asked us to remind members to allow 12 weeks before chasing post relating to bereavement issues as chasing can slow down processing further.  Once the 12 week period has passed, agents should call the appropriate bereavement helplines above rather than the main dedicated agent helpline (ADL), as HMRC's bereavement teams are specially trained in this area and will be better able to help.

ATT 'How To' Guide

We have updated our guide to Managing income tax for a deceased estate to reflect the changes above.