I hold NZ and AU citizenship, but have been resident in AU for the past 23 years. My Dad passed in Feb 2022, I am an executor and a beneficiary of his estate. What are the tax implications of bringing my inheritance into AU?
Hello @koroua63
There is no tax taken out of inherited money.
There could be tax from dividends or rental income from an inheritance. Any interest earnt from having money sitting in s bank account can get taxed also.
Please see our page Inheriting money or Assets for more information.
Hello @koroua63
There is no tax taken out of inherited money.
There could be tax from dividends or rental income from an inheritance. Any interest earnt from having money sitting in s bank account can get taxed also.
Please see our page Inheriting money or Assets for more information.
Thank you
After further discussion I have been advised by the estate lawyers to seek tax advice in AU because their understanding is that because I am both an executor and beneficiary I would be taxed on the full estate value not just my potion the inheritance should I bring the money into AU.
“This is potentially quite complicated as the estate is overseas and so it is possible section 99B would apply to the distribution resulting in 47% tax on the whole amount. That being said, there may be applicable exemptions or disregards to avoid this, as the deceased estate has an Australian resident executor which is the same as a trustee of a trust being Australian resident, this will likely bring the deceased estate into being an Australian resident estate. It would then potentially benefit from the CGT disregard rules upon sale, but this would need further analysis of the finer details and any subsequent Australian administrative requirements which likely have not been considered.
I am not sure who to believe now.
I have decided to be more concise with my question now I have a better understanding of what to ask.
My father based in New Zealand passed in Feb 2023, I am an Australian resident.
I am both an executor and a beneficiary of his estate.
His house has been sold within two years and was his primary residence with no income being derived from it at any point.
Any other assets were distributed to family in NZ.
Am I liable for AU tax when I bring my inheritance money into AU?
Hi @koroua63
Thanks for the extra info. If you've inherited a property from a foreign resident, you wouldn't be entitled to the main residence exemption.
Yes, it'll need to be declared.
Check out our further info on Tax on gifts and inheritances.
Thanks Deb,
The house was sold under the estate so I never owned it. I will only inherit a cash sum as a result of winding up the estate.
Hi @koroua63,
Let's see if we can clear it up for you a bit more. 😀
As the beneficiary of an inheritance of money only, there are no tax implications, as said before.
As for being the executor of the deceased estate, you may have tax implications.
We have a webpage with more info and a great example on Confirming tax obligations are complete.
It depends on if you are or intend to be, the Legal personal representative. This would be more to do with final tax returns and settling things up with the estate.
Rather than the inheritance itself.
They would be two separate responsibilities.
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