Tax debt 4 months after Death

Jay1972

Hi there, Im posting on behalf of my Mum.
Her brother died approx 4 months ago. At the time all his debts were sorted out and any money owed was paid. Any money left was shared between the 4 sisters. There was not a great amount and did not need to go to probate, but enough for each to buy a few things for home etc, so leaving no money left.
Today a letter has been received from HMRC saying that he owed £1200. Is there a time limit on them requesting money, and what happens as they don't have any money left.
Any help would be appreciated, as my Mum and her Sisters were led to believe all debts had been paid and they could move on with their own lifes. But this has just pushed them all back.

Thanks for any help
Jay

TonyMMM

More information required...

Who administered the estate ? Was there a will ?

Why is HMRC saying that an amount is owed ? Was he self employed ?

Jay1972

Hi there, thanks for reply, one of his sisters administered the estate and dealt with everything. There was no will. Apparently he was allowed £10000 income through pensions / benefits i believe but he actually had £18000 a year come in total which he had not informed them of, and this has only just come to light now after 4 months since he died.
I may be a bit lax on all details as only spoken to my mum on the phone about it.

Kind Regards
Jay

Jay1972

He was retired and not self employed.

TonyMMM

Whoever administers an estate has a duty to settle any debts (if there are sufficient assets in the estate) - that would include ensuring that any tax/benefits position is settled ( paid or reclaimed).

Did she check with HMRC about his tax/benefits situation ?

If not, she may be liable for the payment now owing , she should take some proper advice.

G6JNS

Jay1972 wrote: »

Hi there, Im posting on behalf of my Mum.
Her brother died approx 4 months ago. At the time all his debts were sorted out and any money owed was paid. Any money left was shared between the 4 sisters. There was not a great amount and did not need to go to probate, but enough for each to buy a few things for home etc, so leaving no money left.
Today a letter has been received from HMRC saying that he owed £1200. Is there a time limit on them requesting money, and what happens as they don't have any money left.
Any help would be appreciated, as my Mum and her Sisters were led to believe all debts had been paid and they could move on with their own lifes. But this has just pushed them all back.

Thanks for any help
Jay

Sorry to say this just illustrates the folly of not doing the job by the book. The person who administered the estate had no legal authority to do so. Someone should have applied for letters of administration. When they had the grant they should have advertised for any creditors. As it is now the person who administered the estate is liable or the beneficiaries.

getmore4less

The executor is responsible for ensuring that the tax affairs, up to date of death, are checked.

often it is just an R27 which may trigger a full return.

edit: The process changed in Oct 2014. so no R27 any more.

Need to read up on the new process.

wwl

Probably worth checking all the figures, bearing in mind that if he died after April 5th, there is a whole year's tax allowance, so if he had any income this tax year that was taxed at source, any tax paid should be offset against any other liabilities.
As this tax year isn't over it's possible that this hasn't been taken into account.