Research and editorial methodology
How EPN checks and explains the rules
Trust depends on showing where information came from, which jurisdiction it concerns and when the rule was last checked.
Source order
- Legislation and official government publications
- GOV.UK, HMRC, the Office of the Public Guardian and HM Land Registry
- Regulators including the FCA, SRA, Legal Services Board, CMA and ICO
- Respected professional bodies, including STEP, where useful as secondary material
Competitor websites are not treated as authority for substantive legal or tax rules.
Jurisdiction and dates
The current launch material covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland are not blended into it. Every rule-sensitive guide displays a rules-checked date. Future changes are described as future rules until their effective date.
Information, not recommendations
EPN can explain a concept, show a dated example and identify questions worth investigating. It does not tell a reader to create a particular trust, make a gift, transfer a property, choose an investment, change a pension or take a care-funding step.
Estate-check calculation method
The 60-second check calculates the broad net estate from the figures entered, excluding pensions from the current illustration and adding the entered pension value to a separate illustration for deaths from 6 April 2027. It uses the £325,000 nil-rate band, potential £175,000 residence nil-rate band, £2 million residence-band taper threshold and 40% standard rate checked on 14 September 2026.
For a married person or civil partner, the result shows a range rather than assuming transferable allowances definitely exist. The lower illustration assumes up to 100% of a late spouse or civil partner's unused bands may be available on a later second death. The actual percentage depends on the earlier estate and a valid claim. The residence allowance is shown only as potentially available where a net home and direct descendants are entered, because the tool cannot establish whether the home qualifies or how it will pass.
The short check does not calculate spouse exemptions, charity rates, detailed gifts, trusts, business or agricultural relief, overseas assets, long-term UK residence or scheme-specific pension treatment. Where those facts matter, it flags uncertainty instead of inventing precision. Financial answers stay in the visitor's browser and are not submitted to EPN.
September 2026 form maintenance
- 2 September 2026: HMRC updated IHT100d with more information on certain relevant-property trust charge calculations and corrected cross-references.
- 3 September 2026: HMRC added an updated IHT400 calculation form for estates requiring a full IHT400 account.
These are official form or guidance updates, not announcements of new Inheritance Tax thresholds. EPN refreshed its rules register, trust and executor material, but did not alter the estate-check mathematics.
Free and paid content
Official services remain linked freely. Paid guides add structured explanations, worksheets, comparison tools and preparation material. The free 12-point checklist is intentionally diagnostic at a high level and does not reproduce the paid workbooks.
Corrections and updates
Material is reviewed when an official change is identified and again before a dated product is reissued. Corrections that could affect a reader's understanding are prioritised. Previous tax values should not be relied on after the displayed review date.
Submit a correctionCurrent review status
EPN does not present material as externally expert-reviewed unless a named reviewer has actually checked a defined scope. Until that review is commissioned, the site relies on dated primary-source research and clear information-only boundaries.
Core official sources
Website rules checked: 14 September 2026. Current paid-guide editions checked: 7 September 2026.