Private ruling: Capital gains tax
Date of advice: 4 August 2022
Published: November 2022
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 20XX
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 20XX

Ruling: Q1: Will the Commissioner exercise the discretion to allow an extension of time for you to dispose of your ownership interest in the dwelling and disregard the capital gain or loss you made on the disposal? | A1: Yes. Having considered your circumstances and the relevant factors the Commissioner will allow an extension of time. Further information about the Commissioner's discretion can be found by searching ato.gov.au for 'QC 66057'.

Relevant facts and circumstances: The deceased passed away several years ago. The property was purchased in prior to 19XX. The deceased died intestate. Letters of administration were granted in the year following the date of death. The property was the deceased's main residence for the whole of their ownership period. The property was not used to derive assessable income. The property was less than X hectares. The property remained vacant from when the deceased died until it was sold. The contract to sell the property was entered into earlier this year. Settlement of the sale of the property took place a few months later. The reason for the delay in selling the property was due to a number of factors. The deceased was a hoarder and the property needed to be cleaned up prior to it going on the market. There was a lot of rubbish in the backyard and within the property which needed removal so that the property could be viewed. The rubbish had accumulated over several decades years by the deceased. In the year the deceased passed away one of the administrators became very ill and went into respiratory failure. Another of the administrators attempted to clean up the property while the other administrator was recovering. In the following year the administrator was still ill and separated from their partner. This of course meant that the clean up was delayed further as they needed to secure new living arrangements. In the following year a more concerted effort was made to clean up the property and asbestos sheets was removed and disposed of. There were further delays in relation to the pandemic and lock downs. In the next year the clean up resumed and the administrator hired a local mowing service to maintain what had been cleared and further cleaning occurred. The property needed to be cleaned up as there was asbestos on the property and it could not be bulldozed. Settlement of the sale was several months ago.

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