Chapter IDG30472
| Published date | 19 March 2016 |
| Record Number | IDG30472 |
| Court | HM Revenue & Customs |
| Issuer | HM Revenue & Customs |
Verifying the identity of personal representatives
Procedure to follow
Dealing with documentary evidence in connection with deceased taxpayers
The deceased left a will naming an executor
If the deceased made no will
Dealing with cases where documentary evidence is unavailable
Dealing with personal representatives who are unable to provide documentary evidence
Where there are two or more personal representatives
Special personal representative
Further guidance
Where necessary, the deceased’s personal representative is responsible for advising HMRC of their details, see IDG30471 for the ways in which HMRC will accept details of the personal representative. The personal representative is responsible for filing a tax return for the estate to the date of death and for paying any outstanding tax and National Insurance liabilities. To fulfil these responsibilities, the personal representative may contact HMRC seeking information about the deceased’s affairs. As noted in IDG30471 any information held in relation to a deceased person’s affairs remains confidential and may only be disclosed with the consent of the personal representative and where it will enable the tax affairs of the deceased to be settled.
You must ensure that the person making the enquiry is the personal representative before making any disclosure. Bear in mind that the customer may not be familiar with the formal, legal processes discussed here and take care to avoid asking a customer to provide evidence or information he may have already produced to another line of business in HMRC. Check what you should do in your line of business.
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Procedure to followLines of business should take a consistent approach when dealing with the personal representative, in order that the deceased’s tax affairs can be settled. This may include payment of outstanding HMRC debts or claims to repayments of tax due to the estate.
- Check whether HMRC holds details of the personal representative.
- If there is no record of the personal representative, check whether HMRC has received a Self Assessment return completed for the deceased’s estate to the date of death. The Self Assessment return may only be completed by the deceased’s personal representative. If the person making the enquiry into the deceased’s affairs is the person who signed the return, then that person should be accepted as the personal representative and you may provide them with relevant...
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