Valuation Date for UK inheritances - Irish revenue approach

Sam Maguire

Registered User
Messages
73
Can anyone help with this? Its probably basic enough but Im no tax expert.

If an Irish resident takes a benefit from a UK estate (donor dies in 2007, for example) but that estate isnt probated for two years, what valuation date is used to calculate the Irish CAT chargeable?

There is UK IHT payable so there will be an offset of that against the Irish tax payable. Irish tax is high due to the relationship between donor and beneficiary. Clearly UK revenue will calculate tax at date of death.

On one hand you can see that date of death is the obvious date for Irish revenue. However, the beneficiary has (through no fault of her own) not had access to the inheritance during that period or been able to do anything with it. In the interim the assets involved have declined substantially in value due to the change in exchange rates (let alone the decline in the value of the property asset which is now unsellable thought it might need to be realised to pay the heavier Irish tax....).

My point is that the benefit has not been capable of enjoyment even if the beneficiary had a legal right in the asset from date of death. I know you may say that she wouldnt complain if she had benefitted from exchange rate swings, but Im just raising the question!

Anyone aware of Revenue approach in this situation? I assume they will want to stick with date of death for all matters connected with the estate but it seems unfair in these circumstances (ie she will pay tax on inheritance of a benefit of 100 quid in 2007 even though the benefit is worth only 60 quid by the time she gets it and can do anything with it).

Thanks
 
Back
Top