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Edited version of your written advice
Authorisation Number: 1013118438611
Date of advice: 3 November 2016
Ruling
Subject: Capital gains tax - deceased estate - Commissioner's discretion
Will the Commissioner exercise his discretion under subsection 118-195(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) and allow an extension of time to the two year period?
Answer
Yes.
This ruling applies for the following period
Year ending 30 June 20YY.
The scheme commenced on
1 July 20XX.
Relevant facts and circumstances
A person passed away.
The property was owned solely and was the primary place of residence.
Probate was applied for and granted.
A person had a portable home on the property and refused to vacate to allow sale of the property. Attempts were made requesting the property to be vacated.
Legal actions were commenced to have the property vacated through the legal proceedings, a determination was made in the favour of the Estate to recover possession of the property.
A caveat was lodged over the property. It was agreed to withdraw the caveat subject to certain conditions and the caveat was withdrawn.
A contract to sell the property was entered with settlement occurring.
The property was not used to earn any income in the course of administration.
Relevant legislative provisions
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 104-10
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 subsection 118-130(3)
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 118-195
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 subsection 118-195(1)
Reasons for decision
Summary
The Commissioner will exercise his discretion under subsection 118-195(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) and allow an extension of time.
Detailed reasoning
Subsection 118-195(1) of the ITAA 1997 states that if you own a dwelling in your capacity as trustee of a deceased estate (or it passed to you as a beneficiary of an estate), then you are exempt from tax on any capital gain made on the disposal of the property if:
● the property was acquired by the deceased before 20 September 1985, or
● the property was acquired by the deceased on or after 20 September 1985 and the dwelling was the deceased's main residence just before the deceased's death and was not then being used for the purpose of producing assessable income, and
● your ownership interest ends within 2 years of the deceased's death (the Commissioner has discretion to extend this period in certain circumstances).
You have an ownership interest in a property if you have a legal interest in the property. This means that if you sell a property, your ownership interest continues until the date of settlement (rather than the date the contract of sale is signed).
In this case, the property was purchased by the deceased after 20 September 1985 and was their main residence until they passed away. The property was not sold within 2 years of the deceased's date of death.
You will only be able to disregard the capital gain from the sale of the property if the Commissioner extends the 2 year time period.
The Commissioner can exercise his discretion in situations such as where:
● the ownership of a dwelling or a will is challenged;
● the complexity of a deceased estate delays the completion of administration of the estate;
● a trustee or beneficiary is unable to attend to the deceased estate due to unforeseen or serious personal circumstances arising during the two-year period (for example, the taxpayer or a family member has a severe illness or injury); or
● settlement of a contract of sale over the dwelling is unexpectedly delayed or falls through for circumstances outside the beneficiary or trustee's control
Having considered the circumstances and the factors outlined above, the Commissioner is able to apply his discretion under subsection 118-195(1) of the ITAA 1997 and allow an extension of time.
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