Background
An executor, administrator or trustee of a deceased estate is liable for land tax under the Land Tax Assessment Act 2002 (LTA Act).
Land owned by a person as executor, administrator or trustee is assessed separately from other land beneficially owned by that person.
Private residential property includes a lot on which there is a private residence.
Primary residence means an individual’s sole or principal place of residence.
Continued exemption after death
Under section 23 of the LTA Act, private residential property owned by an executor or administrator of a deceased estate is exempt from land tax for one year if the property was used as the deceased’s primary residence when they died. Apply for a continued exemption after death of the owner.
Right to reside exemption
Under section 22 of the LTA Act, private residential property is exempt from land tax if it is owned by a trustee of a deceased estate and a beneficiary using the property as their primary residence is expressly entitled under the will to use the property as a place of residence. Apply for an exemption for property owned by an executor or administrator.
Right to future ownership exemption
Under section 23A of the LTA Act, private residential property is exempt from land tax if it is owned by a trustee of a deceased estate and a beneficiary using the property as their primary residence is entitled under the will to ownership of that property at a fixed or ascertainable future time. Apply for an exemption for property owned by an executor or administrator.
Commissioner’s discretion
If an exemption applies to a portion of land under sections 22 or 23, the Commissioner may apply discretion to exempt the remaining portion of the land. The Commissioner may also exempt land under section 23 for a second year after the deceased’s death, or for the first year after the deceased’s death if the land does not qualify under section 23 because the estate derived income from the property.
See Commissioner’s Practice LT 21 ‘Commissioner’s Discretion’.
