The Financial Wellness Coach: How to cut estate duty and avoid heavy tax

Daily Maverick

4 days ago

Although it may seem like a good idea to transfer assets before death to reduce estate duty, doing so can actually result in higher tax costs.
Question: My father is a widower and has just been diagnosed with cancer. The prognosis is not good and I'm helping him to tidy up his affairs to make the inheritance process easier. I am his only child.
His assets consist of a house worth R4-million and various share investments worth R8-million. To reduce his estate duty bill, we are thinking of transferring the house to his only grandchild while he is still alive.
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Does this make sense? Are there any other factors we should consider?
Answer: Although it may seem like a good idea to transfer assets before death to reduce estate duty, doing so can actually result in higher tax costs during your father's lifetime. This is because of:
• Immediate payment of capital gains tax (CGT)
If your father transfers the house to his grandchild now, he will trigger a CGT event. He will need to pay tax on the growth in value of the property from when he bought it until the date of transfer. This could be substantial, especially if the house has appreciated significantly.
• Donations tax
Donating the house (valued at R4-million) to the grandchild will also trigger donations tax at 20% on the value above the R100,000 annual exemption. This means that your father will have to pay donations tax of R780,000.
• Transfer costs
The transfer will also incur costs such as conveyancing attorney fees, deeds office charges and transfer duty.
As you can see, this approach would result in a high immediate tax burden (CGT plus donations tax plus fees) without actually reducing the tax payable, as donations tax is charged at the same rate as estate duty (20%). Additionally, the value of these taxes is paid during your father's lifetime, thereby reducing the capital available for investment and growth.
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Alternative strategy
An alternative solution that is worth considering is the following:
Your father's estate is worth R12-million. He will get the R7-million estate duty abatement. This means that R5-million of his estate would be dutiable, which, at a rate of 20%, means that he would be paying R1-million in estate duty.
One of the few options is to make use of disallowed retirement contributions.
In short, if you buy a retirement annuity (RA) that is worth more than the lesser of R350,000 or 27.5% of your taxable income, the excess contributions are classed as disallowed contributions. If you buy a living annuity with that money and your beneficiaries elect to receive the proceeds of the annuity when you die, this amount will not trigger estate duty.
Consider this scenario
Your father buys an RA for R5-million (which is above the allowable deduction threshold);
The excess contributions are classified as disallowed for tax purposes;
He then converts this RA into a living annuity; and
If your child (his grandchild) is listed as the beneficiary of the living annuity and chooses to receive the benefit as an income stream, no estate duty will be payable on this amount upon your father's death.
This will result in the following:
A saving of R1-million in estate duty, as the living annuity falls outside the estate for estate duty purposes;
A saving of R200,000 in executor fees, as the living annuity has a beneficiary and need not be dealt with by the executor;
The income paid to your child will be taxable in their hands, but since they will probably have little to no income while still young, the tax will be minimal, if any; and
This structure can fund education, living expenses or long-term income. This is a fantastic way for your father's legacy to live on.
Although it is never nice to think about death, a bit of planning can make a material difference to the amount of money that leaks from an estate when there is a death.
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I would strongly recommend that you speak to a suitably qualified professional before implementing any of these ideas, because I'm only seeing part of your financial picture and there may be other factors that need to be taken into account. DM
Kenny Meiring is an independent financial adviser. Contact him on 082 856 0348 or at financialwellnesscoach.co.za. Send your questions to [email protected].
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.