Most people do not have in mind when it will be the end of life, whether personally or from a family member, it is a taboo subject that bothers only to mention it, and although, it is not known when or at what time, but that is an event that everyone has guaranteed, therefore, the bulk of the population does not plan what will happen later with their assets, with its fiscal obligations, with its heritage and savings, among other important issues.
And one of the little mentioned unknowns but of great relevance – That must be general knowledge – It is what happens with taxpayers’ tax obligations after death.
To begin, it is important to mention that when a person dies, their tax obligations do not disappear automatically or by “magic art.”
In Mexico, pending fiscal debts must be resolved in accordance with the provisions of the fiscal code of the Federation, while balances in favor can be claimed by their heirs.
The approach to these issues is variable according to the situation of the deceased and the existence or not of a testamentary succession.
Fiscal debts of deceased people
It is important to mention that the fiscal debts of a deceased person do not transfer directly to their heirs as a personal obligation. However, if the deceased person inherits or leaves assets to these heirs, they are part of the succession, and the authorities have the right to claim the payment of fiscal debts before the heirs can have the inherited heritage.
According to article 21 From the Fiscal Code of the Federation, tax credits must be paid with the assets of the succession, which means that the SAT can require the payment of pending taxes with the deceased’s assets. If the inherited goods are not enough to cover the debt, it will not move to the heirs.
What is the SAT process before a debt?
When the SAT identifies that a taxpayer has died and has fiscal debts, he can initiate a collection process addressed to the heirs or the albacea of the succession. The steps to follow include:
- The authorities will send a notification to those responsible (heirs or executor) of the succession to inform about pending debts
- It will be analyzed and reviewed if the inheritance has sufficient resources to cover tax debts
- Before distributing the inheritance among the beneficiaries, debts with the SAT must be settled
There are two fundamental points to better understand what the process is in case there are fiscal debts.
1. In the event that the deceased has not left enough assets to pay the debt, the tax credit can be extinguished if there are no other solidarity responsible responsible
2. While tax debts must be paid with the assets of the inheritance before being distributed, the heirs do not acquire the obligation to cover them with their own assets
Balances in favor of deceased people
At the opposite point, that is, if the deceased taxpayer had a balance in favor of annual statements or excess payments, Your beneficiaries have the right to request their return, This is based on article 22 of the Federation Fiscal Code, which dictates that taxpayers can recover balances in favor through a return request.
The procedure to request the return of the balance in favor of a deceased taxpayer is that the heirs or the executor must follow a formal process before the SAT, presenting the required documentation.
The steps include:
- Obtain the death certificate, necessary legal document to verify the death of said person
- If there is a will, the designated executor will be in charge of managing the succession. In the very common case of not having a testament, a trial of intestamentary succession must be made
- The process of awarding to determine who are the legal heirs must be completed
- A return request is submitted to the tax authorities together with the necessary documentation, including the official identification of the heirs and documents that prove their right to return
- A review and documentation evaluation is carried out and, if everything is in order, it will proceed with the return of the balance in favor
As an additional comment, the SAT has a normal term, 40 business days to resolve the request for the return; In the case of the detection of inconsistencies in the documents, the process takes longer.
Finally, there are some special cases that must be mentioned for the appropriate actions of the heirs or beneficiaries, cases within which they stand out:
- Solidarity responsibility of third parties
In some cases, third parties may be responsible for fiscal debts of the deceased. This applies, if there were legal representatives, partners or shareholders with shared fiscal responsibilities that, according to article 26 of the Fiscal Code of the Federation, these persons could be required to cover part of the debt.
- Donations or inheritances with fiscal debts
If an heir receives assets subject to a fiscal debt, You can choose to give up the inheritance if you do not want to assume the charge of the debt. In these cases, the authorities may only collect the debt with the goods left in the succession.
Finally, debts and balances in favor of the SAT in deceased people follow a specific legal treatment, that is, there is a whole process to follow to cover an debt of a tax obligation or receive a specific amount as a balance in favor.
About the author:
*LCP and F. Sergio Alberto Morales Zaldívar es entrepreneur and lecturer
The opinions expressed are only the responsibility of their authors and are completely independent of the position and the editorial line of Forbes Mexico.
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