My father died December 2022 probate assigned the house to me around November 2023 but due to living in Australia I've been unable to do anything with the house until now. The house has been cleared now and is up for sale. I have no English bank accounts. I've been here for 16 years in Australia. I'm concerned that I will have to pay massive amounts of tax if I sell and transfer money here via my probate lawyer in UK. I've read many websites and lots of questions within this forum but still very unclear in the UK. There is no tax on the property as if probate estate is under 325,000 UK. I just can't work out because there's so many people saying no problems and other way. Besides talking about capital gains text where I stand the property's gone up for sale and not sold yet but will probably go through in a few months. I've spent quite a bit of money going to the UK when my father died and lots of expenses and then also paying money out of my own bank account and paying people in the UK to do work on the house and clear it etc. Anyway, what I need to know is essentially when it sells. If I transfer money over do I have to declare it on tax return? is there any capital gains tax and how should I approach all this? Thank you so much in advance.
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8 replies
Hi @RHYYYSSS
Yep. You're correct. Looks like we were heading down the wrong path there.
When you inherit a property from a foreign resident, you're not entitled to the main residence exemption, unless you satisfy the life events test.
If you don't, then capital gains tax will apply.
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Hi @RHYYYSSS
If you get the proceeds of sale due to inheritance, then you don't pay tax. You'd only pay tax if income was earned from that money.
Check out our article for more info on gifts and inheritances.
aree you sure, that article says ..I’ve received an inheritance from a deceased estate – do I have to declare it?
In most cases, no. Generally, as the beneficiary of a deceased estate, if you inherit money or assets such as property or jewellery, you don’t have to declare it unless:
- the assets are left to
you >>>>>>***** inherited a dwelling from a foreign resident **** <<<<<
ZiadATO. THANKS FOR THE REPLY COULD YOU RE-CLARIFY BECAUSE WHEN I GO TO THAT LINK IT SAYS UNLESS OVERSEAS PROPERTY WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M SAYING I'M IN AUSTRALIA 16 YEARS IT'S MY FATHER'S PROPERTY IN THE UK THAT WILL BE SOLD THEN MY LAWYER WILL SEND THE MONEY TO ME A QUESTION SIMILAR IN THIS FORUM WHERE ATO Replies INDICATE CGT. Thanks again. Sorry about caps just realised I'm doing voice to text.
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