resources
Estate & trust tax articles
This resource centre contains technical commentary and updates on deceased estate and trust taxation in Australia. It is intended for legal practitioners, trustee companies and advisers dealing with complex estate administration and compliance matters.
These articles are not intended to be and should not be used as a substitute for taking taxation advice in any specific situation. The information in these articles may be subject to change as taxation, superannuation and related laws and practices alter frequently and without warning.
You can also view the articles as an indexed list below
53. No main residence exemption for excluded foreign residents
The way the main residence exemption applies to foreign residents including upon their death can be quite tricky.
52. ATO views about the operation of section 99B of the ITAA 1936
The ATO has issued long awaited views about the operation of section 99B of the ITAA 1936:
51. Changes to the foreign resident CGT withholding tax rules
The foreign resident CGT withholding (FRCGW) regime was introduced with effect from 1 July 2016 to address low levels of compliance by foreign residents with their Australian tax obligations.
50. Capital gain or loss if beneficiary pays executor an amount in respect to the transfer of an estate asset
It sometimes happens that the value of an estate asset is such that it cannot readily be appropriated to a beneficiary in satisfaction of their entitlement to a share of the estate (that is, the value of the asset is more than the value of the beneficiary’s percentage entitlement).
49. ATO view unclear about who is expected to benefit from a death benefit paid to an estate
Where a superannuation death benefit is paid to the deceased’s legal personal representative (LPR), the LPR will pay any relevant tax (the death benefit is not taxed according to usual trust taxation rules based on present entitlement to income). (1) Note that the LPR does not pay Medicare levy.
48. Remember inheritances affect your Centrelink benefits!
Another topic that whilst doesn’t relate to tax specifically, but we have observed some horror stories where beneficiaries have historically failed to notify Centrelink they are potential beneficiaries of testamentary trusts and were later subject to audit by DSS