Section 312: taxation of an executor

Who is taxed, and as what status

The income of the estate of a deceased person is chargeable to tax in the hands of the executor - as an individual if there is only one executor, or as an association of persons if there is more than one executor.

"Executor" includes an administrator or any other person administering the estate of a deceased person.

For residential status purposes, the executor is deemed resident or non-resident according to the residential status of the deceased person for the tax year in which death took place.

Kept separate from the executor's own tax affairs

The assessment of an executor under Section 312 is made separately from any assessment on him in respect of his own personal income.

Assessed year by year until distribution is complete

Separate assessments are made under this section on the total income of each completed tax year, or part of a tax year, falling within the period from the date of death to the date the estate is completely distributed to the beneficiaries according to their respective interests.

In computing total income for a tax year, any income of the estate distributed to, or applied for the benefit of, a specific legatee during that year is excluded from the estate's assessment - but that excluded income is instead included in that legatee's own total income for that tax year.

Recovering tax paid, like a representative assessee

Section 305 (the right of a representative assessee to recover tax paid) applies, so far as may be, to an executor in respect of tax paid or payable by him, in the same way it applies to a representative assessee.

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