Who had to report intangible property jointly owned by a taxpayer and grandmother with rights of survivorship?

Subject

Requirement to File a Return

Plain-English summary

The jointly owned property was divided equally between the two owners for reporting. If both were Florida residents, each filed for one-half. If only one lived in Florida, only that resident filed, and only for that resident's half.

What this means for you

Rights of survivorship did not make one joint owner the current owner of the whole account for the historical tax.

Common questions

Could the grandmother report all the property? No, on the stated equal joint-tenancy facts.

What if both owners lived in Florida? Each reported half.

What if only one lived in Florida? The Florida resident reported only half.

Citations and references

• Fla. Stat. §§ 199.052(1), 199.175(1), and 213.22

Source

• Landing page: Florida Tax Law Library
• Advisement: TAA 94C2-010

Original ruling text

May 05, 1994

Re: Technical Assistance Advisement No. 94(C)2-010
Intangible Tax - Requirement to File a Return
Section 199.052, F.S.

Dear :

Your letter requesting a technical assistance advisement
has been referred to this office for response. Your specific
request asks if intangible property held jointly by you and your
grandmother, as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, is
fully reportable by your grandmother.

Provisions of Law

Section 199.052(1), F.S., requires that every person who
owns intangible property that has a taxable situs in this state
file an intangible tax return. Section 199.175(1), F.S.,
provides that a taxable situs is established for intangible
property when it is owned, managed or controlled by a person
domiciled in this state.

Discussion of Law

A joint tenancy is one in which the owners of the property
have the same interest in the property held. In the case here
you and your grandmother have joint ownership of intangible
property. For intangible tax purposes the property owned by you
and your grandmother should be divided equally between the two
of you. If both you and your grandmother are Florida residents
then each should file a return reporting their half of the
intangible property subject to tax. If one of you is not a
Florida resident only the Florida resident would file an
intangible tax return reporting then half of the intangible
property.

This response constitutes a Technical Assistance Advisement
under s. 213.22, F.S., which is binding on the Department only

under the facts and circumstances described in the request for
this advice as specified in s. 213.22, F.S. Our response is
predicated on those facts and the specific situation summarized
above. You are advised that subsequent statutory or
administrative rule changes or judicial interpretations of the
statutes or rules upon which this advice is based may subject
similar future transactions to a different treatment than
expressed in this response.

You are further advised that this response and your request
are public records under Chapter 119, F.S., which are subject to
disclosure to the public under the conditions of s. 213.22, F.S.
Your name, address, and any other details which might lead to
identification of the taxpayer must be deleted by the Department
before disclosure. In an effort to protect the confidentiality
of such information, we request you notify the undersigned in
writing within 15 days of any deletions you wish made to the
request or the response.

Sincerely,

J.V. Parramore, Jr.
Tax Law Specialist
Technical Assistance

JVP/mh