Iain Jones

My partner's father died in July of this year and we notified all relevant parties including the insurer holding a life insurance policy. There has been no claim as yet as we require probate and this is still in progress. We recently received a chargeable event certificate from the insurer. This is a concise document that explains that the death claim has resulted in a chargeable event gain which is treated as part of the deceased's income for the year of death. The claim must be declared to the HMRC. The document details the gain and amount of tax treated as paid. I believe we understand the principles and that if due the gain, the deceased's income crosses tax thresholds then this will be liable to the extra tax. This will certainly cross the £50k threshold for 40% tax. Is there a calculator that allows us to work out the liability or at the very least have all the information available for the HMRC to make their calculation? The deceased had pensionable income from a number of plans which I assume will also be a factor. Is there any other information we should gather? We are curious how the calculation factors in that the policyholder died in July, does this have a bearing on the tax liability. Finally, how is the tax retrieved and from whom, would it be directly from the deceased's estate which is now held in a joint account of the executors? Thank you for any advice that you can share.