Death Duty Records

The History

Since 1796 "Death Duty" has been payable on the estates of people.

There has always been a threshold under which no death duty is liable to protect poor people.

This threshold has varies throughout time but people in the index tend to be above average earners.

What records can you find?

Death Duty records hold much the same information as wills in that they records

Name, address and occupation of the deceased

Names and address of executors

Names of the beneficiaries

Details of the estate

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The central source for Death Duty records is the National Archives.

Searches are available online for records from 1796 to 1811 but other records will require a personal    visit or hiring a researcher.