Are you entitled to a partial capital gains tax exemption as your mother was living in the property that you inherited from your father?
Yes. This ruling applies for the following period : Year ended 30 June 20XX The scheme commences on: 1 July 20XX
Your father purchased a property prior to 20 September 1985. Your father passed away in XX/20XX. Your father's will allowed for your mother to continue living in the property until she passed away. Your mother passed away in XX/20XX. You inherited the property with the legal title passing to you in XX/20XX. You sold the property during the 20XX-XX income year.
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 118-195 Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 118-200
Detailed reasoning Dwelling acquired from a deceased estate Section 118-195 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) provides that in certain circumstances you can disregard the capital gain or loss from an interest in a dwelling that passed to you as a beneficiary in a deceased estate. However, your ownership interest must end within 2 years of the deceased's death (or within a longer period allowed by the Commissioner), or from the deceased's death until your ownership interest ends the dwelling was the main residence of: (a) the spouse of the deceased immediately before the death; or (b) an individual who had a right to occupy the dwelling under the deceased's will; or (c) an individual to whom the ownership interest passed as a beneficiary Section 118-200 of the ITAA 1997 allows for a partial exemption if you are an individual and your ownership interest in a dwelling passed to you as a beneficiary in a deceased estate, and section 118-195 of the ITAA 1997 does not apply.
As section 118-195 of the ITAA 1997 does not apply for the reason that the property was not sold on or before the date of your mother's death, a partial capital gain or loss is calculated using the formula stated in subsection 118-200(2) of the ITAA 1997: CG or CL amount x Non-main residence days Total days For an ownership interest acquired prior to 20 September 1985, non-main residence days is the sum of the number of days in the period from the death until your ownership interest ends when the dwelling was not the main residence of an individual referred to in item 2, column 3 of the table in section 118-195 of the ITAA 1997. In your case, this is the number of days from when your mother passed away in 20XX, to the settlement date of the sale. For an ownership interest acquired prior to 20 September 1985, total days is the number of days in the period from the deceased's date of death until your ownership interest ends. In your case, this is the number of days from your father's death in 20XX, to the settlement date of the sale.
As the property was the main residence of your mother following your father's death, you will be eligible for a partial exemption on disposal of your ownership interest in the property. In calculating the 'CG or CL amount' in the above formula, subsection 128-15(4) of the ITAA 1997 deems the first element of your cost base for the property is its market value on the date of your father's passing. Further information about calculating a partial exemption for inherited property can be found by searching ato.gov.au for 'QC 66057'.