I am an executor on my father’s will. He died earlier this year and we are now trying to organise his estate. He did not have much other than his home, so it is not overly complicated. But I am having trouble getting answers to some questions which I need to sort out the tax affairs with Revenue.
First, he was a pensioner receiving the State pension and the Revenue form wants a “personal claim number”. I thought this would be his PPS number, but a quick Google search tells me it is a different number.
Also, some of my siblings live abroad and they and their children are named in the will. Does that create any problems?
Mr DS
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Getting to grips with a loved one’s estate always sounds easier than it turns out to be. Inevitably, there are legacy credit union accounts or prize bonds or tiny, long-forgotten shareholdings to be found and sorted.
People think that, because they are close family, they know everything about a parent or sibling. This is rarely the case.
That’s why most families leave the digging and sorting to a solicitor. First, they’re more familiar with what to look for and second, by the nature of their business, they are familiar with what is required in dealings with the Revenue and the Probate Office.
Your issue with the personal claim number is a case in point. Everyone in receipt of a social welfare payment – a State pension or anything else – has a personal claim number. This number is required on the Statement of Affairs that must be submitted to the Revenue Commissioners as part of the probate process.
It is not something I came across before but it certainly makes sense.
Following your query, I did a Google search and it does, rather unhelpfully, state that this personal claim number is distinct and separate from a person’s unique Personal Public Service (PPS) number. That is not the case and is just one example of why one should always be careful about the Encyclopaedia of Google.
Having contacted the Department of Social Protection, they assure me that a person’s PPS number acts as their personal claim number precisely because it is a unique identifier.
Your second point is less black and white. As you can imagine, inheritances across borders can get complicated, not least because of the very different approaches to taxing estates and inheritances in different countries, even within the EU.
Just because your siblings and their children live abroad, they could have a liability to Irish capital acquisitions tax (inheritance tax) as your dad lived here and his home is physically in the State.
Whether they will actually end up having to pay tax in Ireland depends on how much they receive. I’m not going to get into what they owe in whatever country or countries they actually live in, not least because you have not identified them.
Revenue will certainly require everyone receiving a benefit valued at more than €12,000 to be identified with a PPS number in the Statement of Affairs. For anyone living or working in Ireland, this is not a problem. Similarly, if you were born in Ireland since 2000, you will automatically have been assigned a PPS.
For anyone else, including children who were born abroad and never worked in Ireland, they will need to apply to the Department of Social Protection’s Client Identity Services unit at cis@welfare.ie.
They will need proof of identity (a passport), proof of address and a reason why the PPS is required. Stating that it is because of inheritance is valid. You also have to fill in a questionnaire and, if the number is to be sent to a third party, such as an executor, a consent form.
Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or by email to dominic.coyle@irishtimes.com, with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice
