Attribution of income in securities accounts with two holders after a death

Determining who must pay tax on capital income and capital gains or losses in securities accounts with shared ownership is a point of particular relevance for the correct settlement of Personal Income Tax (IRPF). A recent binding ruling from the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) has clarified the applicable criteria when one of the holders of such an account passes away.

What the DGT has resolved

The DGT establishes that returns and capital gains or losses are attributed to the owners of the assets following the applicable rules of legal ownership. In the specific scenario of a death, the portion of the returns and gains corresponding to the deceased must be attributed to the dormant estate, the community of heirs, or the beneficiary, as the case may be.

To determine the ownership of these elements, the Administration will rely on the following factors:

• Evidence provided to prove ownership.
• The current matrimonial property regime.
• The applicable civil legislation.

What it means for you

If you are a holder of a securities account alongside another person, the way profits or losses are declared does not depend solely on the will of the holders, but on the legal nature of the ownership of those assets. In the event of the death of one of the co-owners, the tax obligation on the deceased's share does not automatically fall on the surviving holder; instead, it must be integrated into the estate or attributed to the heir who receives said asset.

This criterion ensures that the tax burden is distributed according to the actual and legal ownership of the assets, avoiding an incorrect attribution of income in the IRPF, which could lead to errors in the tax settlement.

What you should do

In the presence of securities accounts with shared ownership, it is necessary to verify the documentation that proves ownership of the assets and the economic regime governing the relationship between the holders. In the event of a death, it must be correctly identified whether the returns should be taxed in the survivor's tax return or if, conversely, they should be integrated into the settlement of the estate or by the corresponding beneficiaries.