Private ruling: CGT - deceased estate - 2 year discretion
Date of advice: 21 July 2015
Published: July 2015
Ruling period: Year ending 30 June 2015 | Year ending 30 June 2016
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2014

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 to 1 July 2016? | 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: The deceased died in 20XX. A property (the property) forms part of the estate. The property was acquired by the deceased prior to 20 September 1985. The dwelling was the deceased's main residence for the last XX years, until the time of their death. The property was not used for the purpose of producing assessable income. The trustees of the estate entered into a sale agreement with a developer in early 20XX for the sale of the property, however this agreement fell through. Negotiations commenced with a new developer in 20XX, and a sale agreement was entered into in 20XX for the sale of the property. The trustees of the estate requested settlement by 20XX, however as the sale agreement is subject to the purchaser obtaining Development Approval, settlement has been delayed. The purchaser has indicated that the development approval may not be received until early 20XX. Settlement under the sale agreement is no more than 45 days from receipt of the Development Approval from the relevant authority.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 118-195

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 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 dispose of the property. The following is a non-exhaustive list of situations in which the Commissioner would be expected to exercise the discretion to extend the time period in which you can dispose of the property: • 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 beneficiary held it. In your case, the delay has been caused by the sale agreement being subject to the purchaser obtaining Development Approval, thus delaying settlement. The receipt of the Development Approval is outside the control of the executors. 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 to on or after 30 June 2016. 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 1997. Accordingly, you can disregard any capital gain or loss that arises as a result of the disposal of the property.