Private ruling: CGT - deceased estate - main residence
Published: September 2014
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 2013
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2012

Ruling: Q1: 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? | A1: Yes. | Q2: Can you disregard any capital gain or loss that arises from the disposal of the property under section 118-195 of the ITAA 1997? | A2: Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You were appointed executor of the will. The will was contested. You immediately resigned as executor when the will was challenged, to prevent any further conflict. The property has been in the family for more than one generation and the deceased lived in the house since prior to 20 September 1985. The property was the deceased's main residence and was never used to produce assessable income. Documents to transfer the title of property were lodged after an agreement was reached. The property was listed for sale and sold with settlement occurring during the 2012-13 income year.


Reasons for decision: Summary: As per subsection 118-195(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997), a capital gain or capital loss you make from a capital gains tax (CGT) event that happens in relation to a dwelling or your ownership interest in it is disregarded if: (a) you are an individual and the interest passed to you as a beneficiary in a deceased estate, or you owned it as the trustee of a deceased estate; and (b) at least one of the items in column 2 and at least one of the items in column 3 of the table are satisfied. | Detailed Reasoning - And also one of these items: 1 the deceased *acquired the *ownership interest 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 your *ownership interest ends within 2 years of the deceased's death, or within a longer period allowed by the Commissioner ........... 2 the deceased *acquired the *ownership interest before 20 September 1985 the *dwelling was, from the deceased's death until your *ownership interest ends, the main residence of one or more of: (a) the spouse of the deceased immediately before the death (except a spouse who was living permanently separately and apart from the deceased); or (b) an individual who had a right to occupy the dwelling under the deceased's will; or (c) if the *CGT event was brought about by the individual to whom the *ownership interest *passed as a beneficiary - that individual In this case, when the deceased died the property passed through the legal personal representative to you as a beneficiary . The property was not used to produce assessable income and it was their main residence just before their death. You will only be able to disregard the capital gain from the sale of the property if the Commissioner extends the time period in which you can choose to dispose of the property. The following is a non-exhaustive list of situations in which the Commissioner would be expected to exercise the discretion: • 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 (eg 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 reasons outside the beneficiary or trustee's control. In determining whether or not to grant an extension the Commissioner is expected to consider whether and to what extent the dwelling is used to produce assessable income and how long the trustee or the beneficiary held it. In this case, the delay caused by the will being contested was outside your control. This prevented you from disposing of the property within the two year time limit. The property was never used to produce assessable income. The time the property was held was as short as practical given the circumstances. Having considered the relevant facts, the Commissioner is able to apply his discretion under subsection 118-195(1) of the ITAA 1997 and allow an extension to the two year time limit. As a result of extending the two year time limit, you will satisfy all of the conditions contained in section 118-195 of the ITAA. Accordingly, you can disregard any capital gain or loss that arises as a result of the disposal of the property.