IRS finalizes increase in estate tax closing letter fee

The IRS issued final regulations Thursday increasing the user fee for an estate tax closing letter to $76 from $56, adopting without change proposed regulations issued in June.

The final regulations (T.D. 10055) increase the fee for an estate tax closing letter, also referred to as IRS Letter 627, from the $56 fee that took effect Dec. 1, 2025. The IRS conducted a biennial review in 2025 and determined that the full cost of issuing estate tax closing letters to authorized persons is $76 per request.

Issuing an estate tax closing letter is a service that provides special benefits to authorized persons requesting the letters beyond those available to the general public, the IRS said. Under the Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952, services provided by a federal agency should be self-sustaining to the extent possible.

In its 2025 biennial review, the IRS determined that the estate tax closing letter program’s annual direct and indirect costs totaled $615,593. Based on an estimated 8,053 annual requests, the agency calculated the cost per request at $76.

Treasury and the IRS received one written comment on the proposed regulations. The comment sought additional information about the agency’s cost model and requested that the IRS provide more data before finalizing the regulations. After considering the comment, Treasury and the IRS adopted the proposed regulations without change.

The regulations apply to requests for an estate tax closing letter received by the IRS on or after Oct. 26, 2026.

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