Receiving inheritance and tax return?

poppystar

I’m not sure if this is the correct place to ask this but someone here may have been in the same position. 

I don’t usually complete a self assessment tax return, the only time I have previously was the year I received a retirement lump sum and then HMRC sent me a paper form to complete. I’m now beginning to panic that maybe I should have completed one last year after receiving an inheritance. Is that the case? It looks like it is from HMRC notes on when to complete a form but I’ve only just seen those by accident because someone else had them. It had never occurred to me that I should check or that I might have to fill in a tax return. 

Have I missed something here? 

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Maybe you could share what it is you have read which suggests receipt of an inheritance requires you to complete a Self Assessment return?

Keep_pedalling

Receiving an inheritance will not normally require you to do a SA, and certainly not if you only received cash. If your received something like a rental property or off shore funds then you would need to do future SA for the income but not for the capital value you received.

74jax

poppystar said:

I’m not sure if this is the correct place to ask this but someone here may have been in the same position. 

I don’t usually complete a self assessment tax return, the only time I have previously was the year I received a retirement lump sum and then HMRC sent me a paper form to complete. I’m now beginning to panic that maybe I should have completed one last year after receiving an inheritance. Is that the case? It looks like it is from HMRC notes on when to complete a form but I’ve only just seen those by accident because someone else had them. It had never occurred to me that I should check or that I might have to fill in a tax return. 

Have I missed something here? 

Can you share a link to the notes please so we can advise on what you have read? 

poppystar

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

Maybe you could share what it is you have read which suggests receipt of an inheritance requires you to complete a Self Assessment return?

It was from this bit of the when to fill in the form notes:

‘received income from the estate of a deceased person, or received income, benefits or gains from a trust or settlement’

Now we’ve looked at it again, the panic is subsiding as presumably this means an ongoing income rather than a lump sum coming in. I think because the preceding qualifying points were about one off sums we went on to assume that the term ‘income’ here also did. 

Thanks, sorry to waste everyone’s time! 

shiraz99

Yes, this is about receiving an income rather than a lump sum inheritance. If for example you were getting a rental income from an inherited property then you'd declare it via an SA.

SeniorSam

If you telephone the revenue, you should find them very helpful and it may be that you do not need to return anything at all.

As mentioned, if you have simply received an inheritance lump sum, there would be no need to do any tax return. You should know if you receive, or expect to receive any INCOME, if not they would tell you. Call them up for a chat, it's really easy.

getmore4less

the inheritance could be a mix of capital and income,  you then should get  tax credit if the estate paid tax as you may be due a refund or even owe more.

check with the administrator.