Due date for estate basis reporting postponed once again

The IRS on Thursday further delayed the due date for statements required under Sec. 6035(a)(3)(A) reporting the value of an estate’s assets from Feb. 29, 2016, to March 31, 2016 (Notice 2016-19). The extra time is designed to give taxpayers time to review proposed regulations, which the IRS anticipates issuing shortly, before they have to file Form 8971, Information Regarding Beneficiaries Acquiring Property From a Decedent.

When Sec. 6035 was enacted, it was effective immediately, i.e., July 31, 2015. The law requires the statements to be furnished to the IRS and to beneficiaries within 30 days of the estate tax return’s due date. So for estates that had returns due Aug. 1, 2015, the statements were originally due by Aug. 31, 2015. Because of the short time frame between enactment and the due date, the IRS delayed the deadline in August.

Under Notice 2015-57, for any statement that Sec. 6035 required to be filed with the IRS and estate beneficiaries after enactment and before Feb. 29, 2016, the due date was postponed until Feb. 29, 2016. This relief applied to executors of estates and other persons who are required under Sec. 6018(a) (estate tax returns by executors) or 6018(b) (estate tax returns by beneficiaries) to file a return if that return was filed after July 31, 2015.

To enable the IRS to issue proposed regulations, the Service is postponing the due date for the statements again, from Feb. 29, 2016, to March 31, 2016. Practitioners are encouraged to wait until the regulations are issued before preparing Form 8971.

—Sally P. Schreiber (sschreiber@aicpa.org) is a JofA senior editor.