Today, we are running through a final batch of queries that we did not get around to during our live online post-budget Q&A.
We are in process of submitting probate for my mum who passed away last year. There were delays to this process beyond my control. Am I correct that old rates of inheritance will apply as date of death was last year even though we will not have grant of probate until early next year which is when we will be able to inherit?
Mr M A
There was a lot of interest in the new, higher tax-free thresholds for inheritance, which is not surprising given rising property values and the fact that some of the thresholds have not changed in eight years. None of them has been adjusted for the past five years.
Many of the queries we got related precisely to the area you highlight – people who are still working their way through probate in relation to family who have died fairly recently. When you consider the amount of work involved in probate for even the most straightforward estates and inevitable delays in the Probate Office as they work through the files, there are understandably a lot of people whose probate process will straddle the two rates.
However, as you suspect, the inheritance tax threshold applying to any estate is almost always the date of death, And while the new rates did come into effect the day after the budget, they will not change the arithmetic for anyone sorting out the affairs of people who died before that date.
In your case, this means any of your mum’s children inheriting next year following her death last year will have a tax free threshold of €335,000 (the old figure) rather than the higher one of €400,000 that has now come in. The same applies for other close relatives (€32,500 rather than €40,000) and other friends, more distant relative, in-laws etc (€16,250 rather than the new €20,000 tax free limit).
When will the VAT rate drop on heat pumps to 9 per cent come into effect?
Mr T G
According to the Finance Bill 2024, which was published last week and provides the legal underpinning for budget tax measures, the new lower rate of VAT on heat pumps comes into effect on January 1st ... assuming the Bill is passed as is.
I’ve €21,000 in savings what is the amount in a non contributory pension can I expect to receive
Ms G O’B
There was no budget change in this area, apart form a general rise in the pension payable as with all other social welfare payments.
The non-contributory pension is subject to a means test. This looks at the income and savings of the household, not just the individual.
On the income side, most social welfare payments are not taken into account. Nor is money you might receive for renting out a room in your home as long as you earn no more than €14,000 from it in a year. You can also work and earn up to €200 a week without losing out on the means test (as can a partner/spouse).
On the capital side, the first €20,000 of savings is disregarded. Thereafter, you are assessed as having weekly cash income of €1 per €1,000 up to €30,000; €2 per €1,000 from that point up to €40,000; and €4 per €1,000 on everything above that.
In your case, that means you will be seen as having weekly means on just €1 on the basis of those savings.
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Will all families get the two “bonus” double children allowance payments or is it just for welfare recipients?
Ms L B
Child benefit is a payment from the Department of Social Protection alongside all other welfare payments but it is not means tested. All parents of children under the age of 16 (or under the age of 19 if still in full-time education) are entitled to the payment of €140 a week.
And all those parents will qualify for the double payments in November and December. If they have a baby in December or later, they will also qualify for the triple newborn payment. None of these payments is limited to people otherwise in receipt of welfare.
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
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