Explanatory Notes

Commentary on Sections

Part 5: Miscellaneous income

Chapter 6: Beneficiaries’ income from estates in administration

Section 666: The residuary income of the estate

2538.This section explains how the residuary income of the estate is calculated. Beneficiaries with absolute interests need to know the residuary income of the estate for a tax year in order to work out their assumed income entitlement. The section is based on section 697 of ICTA.

2539.Subsection (2) lists the “allowable estate deductions”. This is a new label for the items which may be deducted from the aggregate income of the estate. Subsection (2)(a) refers to “all interest paid in that year by the personal representatives …”. Section 697(1)(a) of ICTA refers to “the amount of any annual interest, annuity or other annual payment for that year which is a charge on residue …”. The requirements that interest must be annual and also a charge on residue have not been reproduced. See Change 108 in Annex 1.

2540.In practice, the Inland Revenue allow income from specific dispositions to be deducted from the aggregate income of the estate in calculating the residuary income of the estate in the year of assent and later years. But it is considered simpler for it merely to be excluded from what counts as the aggregate income and not be deducted from it. See Change 107 in Annex 1.

2541.Subsection (2)(b) deals with annual payments. Because of the restricted meaning given to annual payments, much of the wide definition in section 701(6) and section 702(d) of ICTA is otiose. Any liabilities which are annual payments will now have to meet only the requirement that they are properly payable out of residue and this is also a requirement of section 701(6) of ICTA. Omitting the remainder of the definition removes unnecessary material. As a consequence of the change, section 701(7) of ICTA, which limits the meaning of “charges on residue” in relation to specific dispositions, does not need to be rewritten either.

2542.The section does not contain an ordering rule for allocating allowable estate deductions against different categories of income. It is not considered appropriate to state explicitly that the taxpayer may choose whichever allocation is most advantageous. This is implicit in the section.