Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 573

Death

Section 573 sets out the capital gains tax consequences that arise on the death of a person, including the treatment of the deceased's assets, the role of personal representatives, and the effect of deeds of family arrangement.

• Death is not a disposal for CGT purposes — the deceased's assets are deemed to be acquired by the personal representatives or legatees at market value at the date of death, establishing a new base cost for any future disposal.
• Allowable losses arising in the year of death that cannot be set against gains of that year may be carried back against the chargeable gains of the three preceding years, taking the most recent year first.
• Personal representatives are treated as a single continuing body of persons with the deceased's residence, ordinary residence and domicile, and no chargeable gain arises when they transfer assets to a legatee.
• A deed of family arrangement varying the disposition of the deceased's property, executed within two years of death (or longer if Revenue allows), is treated as if the variation had been made by the deceased and does not constitute a disposal for CGT purposes.