Death benefit employment termination payments (ETPs) and superannuation lump sums paid to trustees of deceased estates are reported at this item. Use the PAYG payment summary - superannuation lump sum or PAYG payment summary - employment termination payment that your payer has provided to complete this question.
Superannuation death benefits paid to a trustee of a deceased estate
A superannuation death benefit paid to a trustee is taxed in the hands of the trustee in the same way that it would be taxed if paid directly to a beneficiary, that is, portions of the payment are subject to tax to the extent that the beneficiary is a dependant or a non-dependant of the deceased. There is no tax payable to the extent that the payment is made to a dependant or eligible non-dependant (see Definition of terms) of the deceased.
Eligible non-dependants of deceased members of the Australian Defence Force and Australian police forces (including Australian Protective Services) who have died in the line of duty are to be treated as dependants for tax purposes.
The superannuation fund should have provided you with a PAYG payment summary - superannuation lump sum which shows the components of the payment.
The tax-free component of a superannuation death benefit received by a trustee is not subject to tax, regardless of whether the beneficiary is a dependant or non-dependant.
To the extent that a non-dependant is the beneficiary of the estate, the taxable component of the payment is assessable income. Show the taxed element at V and the untaxed element at W.
If you have more than one payment summary, add the taxable component elements together and show the total of the taxed elements at V and the total of the untaxed elements at W.
Death benefit employment termination payments
An ETP paid to a trustee is taxed in the hands of the trustee in the same way that it would be taxed if paid directly to a beneficiary, that is, the portions of the payment are subject to tax to the extent that the beneficiary is a dependant or a non-dependant of the deceased.
The employer should have provided you with a PAYG payment summary - employment termination payment which shows the components of the payment.
The tax-free component of an employment termination payment received by a trustee is not subject to tax, regardless of whether the beneficiary is a dependant or a non-dependant.
To the extent that a non-dependant is the beneficiary of the estate, the taxable component of the payment is assessable income and should be shown at Y item 13.
To the extent that the beneficiary of the estate is a dependant, taxable component amounts up to the ETP cap ($180,000 for 2013–14) are not subject to tax and are not shown in the return. Amounts above the ETP cap are assessable income and should be shown at X.
If you have more than one payment summary from the same employer, add the components that are assessable income together and show them at the appropriate label.
Definition of terms
A person is a dependant of the deceased if, at the time of death or the time the payment was made, the person was:
- the surviving spouse, including a de facto spouse
- a former spouse, including a former de facto spouse
- a child of the deceased who was under 18 years old
- a financial dependant of the deceased person just before he or she died, or
- in an interdependency relationship with the deceased.
A person who is not a dependant of the deceased may be referred to as a non-dependant.
A person is an eligible non-dependant if they are a non-dependant of a deceased member of the Australian Defence Force or of an Australian police force (including Australian Protective Services) who has died in the line of duty.
An interdependency relationship exists where there is a close personal relationship between two people who live together, and one or both provide for the financial, domestic and personal support of the other. An interdependency relationship can also exist where there is a close personal relationship, but the other conditions are not satisfied, because of the physical, intellectual or psychiatric disability of one of the people.
Your spouse includes another person (whether of the same sex or opposite sex) who:
- you were in a relationship with that was registered under a prescribed state or territory law
- although not legally married to you, lived with you on a genuine domestic basis in a relationship as a couple.
Child, in relation to a person, includes:
- an adopted child, stepchild or an ex-nuptial child of the person
- a child of the person’s spouse (as defined above)
- someone who is a child of the person within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975, for example, a child who is considered to be a child of a person under a state or territory court order giving effect to a surrogacy agreement.