Nature of Source
Introduction to Death Duty Registers
Death duty records document the taxation levied on both personal and real estate following an individual’s death. They provide a summary or abstract of a will and detail how the estate was distributed. Crucially, the documents identify the relationships of each beneficiary and provide an insight economic status of the deceased. The authorities used these documents to calculate death duty taxes which is now referred to as inheritance tax.
Overview of Death Duty Registers
Death duty registers encompass three distinct but related types of taxes:
Legacy Duty (from 1796)
This initially only applied to personal estates over £20, so not all estates were subject to the duty. In addition freehold property was exempt from death duties. This duty was expanded in 1805 to include any real estate, except for bequests to children, spouses, parents, and grandparents. From 1815, only bequests to a spouse were exempt. These reforms meant that approximately 75% of wills and administrations became subject to this tax.
Succession Duty (from 1853)
This duty further broadened the scope of the tax covering almost all wills under its provisions with most estates worth more than £20 covered by the regulations.
Estate Duty (from 1894)
This consolidated previous duties into a single tax with each series generating its own set of registers. Finally in 1899, Reversionary Registers combined all cases dating from 1812 to 1852. From 1903, a new system based on individual case files was introduced, although these were routinely disposed of after 30 years.
Key Research Points
- The abstracts from the Church courts or ‘country courts’ and the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) were collated in separate volumes. After 1857 the abstracts from both courts were merged.
- The registers helpfully provide a centralised register of the court where probate or administration was granted.
- The registers often include additional information to the will such as disputes following probate with reference to chancery law suits.
- The accounts could provide further information about the beneficiaries such as marriages and deaths. Additional family information could be added years after probate.
- The actual legacy payments made are recorded in the accounts. However, many of the registers for the 1890s were destroyed by fire. The indexes for the death duty administrations covering 1864 to 1881 which were granted to the estates of those who died intestate, have not survived.
Irish and Scottish Estate Records
Copies of wills subject to the Estate Duty of testators with an Irish address were deposited with the Estate Duty Office in London between 1812 and 1857. Most of the wills were proved at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury and were kept in London until after 1922. These records are particularly valuable as most Irish wills were destroyed in 1922 making them potentially the only remaining record of a will. For the period between 1812 and 1821 only indexes remain. Approximately 3,000 of these wills are housed at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland with filmed copies available at FamilySearch Centers.
Death duty records for Scottish estates, dating from 1804, are held at the National Archives of Scotland.
Also see
Wills/Testaments and Inheritance (Scotland)
Wills & Admons (Ireland)
Wills and Inheritance and Letters of Administration (Admons) (pre-1858)
Where Found
- Series IR 26, Registers of Legacy Duty, Succession Duty and Estate Duty. Search this series to find specific records of interest using names and place names.
- Series IR 27, Indexes to Registers of Legacy Duty, Succession Duty and Estate Duty. These are contemporary indexes to the Estate Duty Office registers recording legacy, estate and succession duties in IR 26.
- Series IR 28, Board of Stamps and Taxes and successor
- Series IR 6 copies of letters sent to the Inland Revenue, 1812-1836 (Subsequent letters have been destroyed under statute).
- Series IR 19, Specimens of Death Duty Accounts. The case files have been mostly destroyed.
Society of Genealogists
The society holds Estate Duty Will Indexes, 1793-1857 on microfilm)
National Records of Scotland
The archives holds various registers and indexes from the Inland Revenue in Scotland.
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
The archives holds Irish wills proved in English courts between 1812 and 1857 which were subject to an estate duty tax.
Period Covered
- 1796 – 1903
Genealogical Value
- Deceased’s name, address, occupation and date of death.
- Family relationships including names, ages, dates of death and addresses of beneficiaries and next of kin as well as married names of daughters.
- Probate court, date of probate and will and the names and addresses of executors.
Further References
- Cox, Jane. Introduction to Will, Probate and Death Duty Records: Federation of Family History Societies, 1993
- Grannum, Karen & Taylor, Nigel. Wills and Other Probate Records: The National Archives, 2009
- Raymond, Stuart. The Wills of Our Ancestors: A Guide for Family & Local Historians: Pen and Sword Books, 2012
Websites
The National Archives Research Guide
How to look for records of Death duties 1796-1903. Use this guide for advice on how to find death duty records from 1796 (when several death duties were introduced) to 1903 (when the death duty registry system was replaced).
The National Archives Research Guide
How to look for records of Country court death duty registers 1796-1811. These records are country court death duty registers between 1796 and 1811. They form part of series IR 26 and contain over 66,000 personal names.
The National Archives Podcast
Death and taxes: Understanding the Death Duty Registers, by Dave Annal.
FamilySearch Research Wiki
Estate Duty Registers.
Devon Heritage Centre
Information Leaflet. Wills and Probate Records
FamilySearch Research Wiki
Ireland Probate Records
National Records of Scotland Research Guide
Taxation Records.
Online Databases
Findmypast
Explore over 3.3 million transcripts and digitised images sourced from the Estate Duty Office (later known as the Inland Revenue). These archives comprise original indexes of wills and administrations subject to Death Duties across all Probate Courts in England and Wales.
The National Archives
Country Court Death Duty Registers 1796-1811. Search surname indexes to death duty registers which hold details of wills and bequests for estates liable to death duties. This surname indexed collection covers the ‘country court’ registers between 1796 and 1811 but not records from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.
Ancestry
Web: UK, Death Duty Registers Index, 1796-1811. This data is published by The National Archives of the UK.
Somerset Heritage Centre
Abstracts of Estate Duty Registers of Wills, 1812-1857. Search the catalogue under reference ‘DD/ED’ for name indexed abstracts of the estate duty wills. Most of the county’s original probate records before 1858 were destroyed in 1942 by German bombing on the Exeter Principal Registry which housed both Somerset and Devon wills. The indexed transcripts are available in book form compiled by D. T. Hawkings ‘Index to Somerset Estate Duty Office Wills 1812-1857’ or at the Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries website.
Devon Wills Project
Search an index of all Devon wills, including: State duty will and administration abstracts (TNA IR 26), 1796-1811; Estate duty administration abstracts (TNA IR 26), 1812-1857; Inland Revenue wills, 1812-1857.
Ancestry
Irish Records Index, 1500-1920. This database is an index of various collections held by the Family History Library including the Index to Irish Wills.
CD Roms
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