Probate: Exemption threshold set in 1999
MPs have called on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to increase the minimum threshold at which estates must pay probate application fees from £5,000 to £20,000.
The justice select committee said that following last week’s 75% rise in the fee from £300 to £526, estates worth just over £5,000 might have to pay over 10% of their value in fees.
In a letter to justice minister Sarah Sackman, committee chair Andy Slaughter said it was concerned that the government had decided to increase the cost of the application fee by £226 without reviewing the threshold below which no fee was payable.
The £5,000 threshold was set in 1999, at a time when the fee for a grant of probate application was £50.
“Recent data shows that only 2% of applications are now below this £5,000 threshold, so the vast majority of estates must pay the fee.
“We are concerned that, once the application fee is increased to £526, estates worth just over the £5,000 threshold will be required to pay an application fee that represents a significant proportion of the estate’s total value, potentially greater than 10%.
“In our view, if the probate application fee is to be increased by this amount, the threshold for non-payment should be increased significantly. We suggest a reasonable threshold could be £20,000.”
Mr Slaughter first raised the question of probate application fees in a letter to Ms Sackman last month, saying the MoJ had “provided limited justification for such a significant change” and asking the minister to explain why there was not a public consultation.
Ms Sackman responded by saying the fee increase aimed to “recover the cost of delivering the service” and not to generate income for the department.
The MoJ had estimated the cost of processing a probate grant application at £536, which was “substantially higher” than the £300 fee charged since 2024.
The MoJ had “sought to make up this gap”, reducing the cost of copies of a probate grant requested alongside an application from £16 to £2 per copy.
“Taken together, these fees ensure that the service achieves cost recovery. This increase reflects both investment we have made to improve the probate service in the last few years, and wider cost pressures, including inflation, which have increased the total cost on HMCTS.”
Ms Sackman went on: “On the basis that the fee increase does not go beyond the department’s policy approach to cost recovery, we considered that it was proportionate to proceed without a public consultation.”
An MoJ impact assessment published by the MoJ had shown that in 2022 and 2023, just over 5% of estates applying for probate were below the £5,000 threshold.
Ms Sackman added that where a fee was payable for estates over £5,000, the Help with Fees remission scheme was available.
As well as calling for an increase in the minimum threshold for paying fees to £20,000, Mr Slaughter asked for the MoJ to explain “the underlying calculation” that produced the estimated cost of £526 for processing a probate application.
“The proposed fee has been set at only £10 below the cost of providing the service. Given the narrow margin between the fee and the underlying cost, it is important that the committee is able to scrutinise the basis of that cost estimate.”
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