Recently we have been noticing changes in the way the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) are processing personal tax returns for recently deceased clients.
To have these types of tax returns processed and any refunds released, the ATO require a Legal Personal Representative (LPR) to be recorded on the deceased’s record. To have this change made we need to complete of an ‘official notification of death’ application with the ATO.
Along with the completing the form, the ATO also require the below documents, where relevant, to confirm the client is deceased, who the LPR is and how their estate should be distributed. The documents required include:
- Death Certificate
- Will
- Probate or letters of administration
The easiest way to advise the ATO of a client’s death is to complete an online form and attend an in person interview at an Australia Post outlet to present the supporting documents listed above. The online form can be found on the ATO website and using this method will mean you keep the supporting documents and don’t need certified copies.
Alternatively, a paper form can be completed and mailed to the ATO, however this usually takes longer to process and requires certified copies of the supporting documents to be mailed to the ATO.
To summarise, we must complete the official death notification process before the ATO will release any refunds or process any payments required for personal tax returns of recently deceased clients. To find out more information about the process simply contact our office, or to access the online and paper application forms, search ‘QC 49903’ on the ATO website.
