Self assessment return for estate during administration

Bobziz

Hi,

Does anyone have any experience of submitting a tax return for an estate administration period. I'd like to submit a return for the current year as the administration period has effectively ended and no further income will be received.

The amount of estate income received during administration necessitates a formal return.

I've registered the estate at HMRC and have a UTR. Do I have to wait for the end of the tax year before I submit a report ? And if not, how do I go about submitting given that the SA900 form for the current tax year is not yet available ?

Many thanks

poseidon1

If estate administration has ended you can accelerate the tax compliance by  printing out a 2023/24 tax return , inserting the estate income/ taxable gains for the relevant period and alter the date on the return to 2024/25. I would also suggest you calculate the total taxes due, and enclose a cheque for the relevant sum with the amended return and a covering letter.

Alternatively, dispense with the tax return entirely, prepare a more detailed letter setting out the taxable income/gains, the date the administration ended and again enclose a cheque for the total tax due.

 In either case the letter should also request HMRC tax clearance on acceptance of your tax calculation and cheque in settlement thereof.

Both methodologies worked for me in the past. However do not overlook the preparation and distribution of  estate tax deduction certificates form R 185, to  the estate beneficiary/beneficiaries entitled to the net estate income, to ensure they report the income in respect of their  own personal tax compliance obligations.

Bobziz

Thank you @poseidon1 very helpful.

Bobziz

One further question if I may, my mother received a private pension payment the day after she died. This was in error and the company subsequently wanted the net payment back. This has been done, but how might I claim the tax back from HMRC ? Is there a way of including it in the above estate return ?

Many thanks.

Notepad_Phil

Bobziz said:

One further question if I may, my mother received a private pension payment the day after she died. This was in error and the company subsequently wanted the net payment back. This has been done, but how might I claim the tax back from HMRC ? Is there a way of including it in the above estate return ?

Many thanks.

I'm not an expert on such matters, but it seems to me that there's no tax to claim back. As you say, the payment was in error so you paid back the sum you received and presumably the pension company has reversed/reported everything with the hmrc so that any tax that they paid to them has also been returned to the pension company. So I would have thought that there has been no pension payment as far as the pension company and hmrc are concerned, so no tax for you to claim back.

Bobziz

Thanks @Notepad_Phil you are of course correct..I clearly couldn't see the wood for the trees !