Preserve estate tax portability
Monday, October 24th, 2011
To preserve estate tax portability, executors must file Form 706 Estate Tax Return for decedents dying in 2011 and later. The nine month filing deadline may be extended an additional six months. This election is not available for decedents dying before 2011. In the law reinstating the estate tax in 2010, Congress established an exclusion […]
Read More »Estate tax filing relief
Thursday, September 15th, 2011
The IRS has provided some estate tax filing relief for executors of the estates of those who died in 2010. Notice 2011-76 provides an automatic extension of time to file and pay the estate tax due. The rules generally apply to estates exceeding $5 million. The estate tax was repealed for 2010 and was replaced […]
Read More »Next IRS target – generous relatives
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011
Generous relatives may be the next targets of IRS hunting expeditions. The IRS has asked a federal judge for a “John Doe” summons on the California Board of Equalization to force the board to turn over records of property transfers for little or no consideration. They are looking for people who have not paid gift […]
Read More »IRS not ready for some 2010 tax returns
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
The Tax Relief Act extended several tax credits and deductions that expired at the end of 2009. As a result, the IRS has delayed processing of several 2010 tax returns. The delays impact these returns: Form 1120-PC, U.S. Property and Casualty Insurance Company Income Tax Return Form 941 (First Quarter 2011), Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax […]
Read More »Estate tax in the 2010 Tax Relief Act
Friday, December 17th, 2010
The speculation is over now that the tax relief bill is ready for the President’s signature. The bill is wide-ranging, covering income tax rates, extending many temporary provisions, adding a payroll tax cut, and modifying estate tax law, among other things. Estate planning has been particularly difficult in the past few years. With the repeal […]
Read More »Steinbrenner's estate tax feat
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner’s death this week is a sad occasion for his family and friends. But because it happened this year, it resulted in a huge tax savings for his heirs. As explained in this Wall Street Journal article, the 2001 Bush tax cuts left a quirky Federal estate tax repeal for this year only. […]
Read More »Death, But No Taxes
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
Even though the federal estate tax only affected about 5500 decedents in 2009 before it was repealed for one year, Congress’s inaction in reversing the repeal has cost the government big money, even by their standards. In this New York Times story, we learned that Houston’s richest man died last spring. Dan L. Duncan was […]
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