Final regulations establish a user fee for estate tax closing letters
The letters, which the IRS provides as a courtesy to executors and other authorized estate representatives, will now cost $67.
Taxation of Estates & Trusts
Tax Court OKs estate's marital deduction
A decedent's marriage is held valid based on the place-of-celebration rule.
Minority interest discounts apply to charitable bequests
The Tax Court partially upholds gift and estate tax deficiencies involving real estate LLC interests held by a family trust and includible in a decedent's estate.
2021 inflation adjustments and tax tables issued
The IRS issued the 2021 inflation adjustment amounts and tax tables for use in preparing 2021 tax returns in the 2022 filing season. Many of the over 60 items increased from 2020.
Final regs. outline trust and estate expenses still deductible under TCJA
The IRS issued final regulations for distinguishing trusts’ and estates’ allowable deductions from miscellaneous itemized deductions currently suspended by the law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Trusts and estates are permitted certain deductions
The IRS issued proposed regulations to clarify that certain deductions are allowed to an estate or nongrantor trust because they are not miscellaneous itemized deductions.
Gift and GST returns added to postponed tax and filing deadlines
The IRS postponed the payment and return filing requirements for gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes due April 15 to July 15, matching prior postponements granted to federal income taxes and returns.
Estate is entitled to refund of Sec. 6651 late-filing penalty
The full tax liability had been paid by the extended due date.
Final regs. eliminate estate and gift tax clawback
The IRS issued final regulations that reconcile the current higher exclusion for the estate and gift tax unified credit amount in effect under the TCJA with the lower unified credit scheduled to go into effect in 2026.
Great time for a GRAT
Grantor retained annuity trusts may be an optimal wealth-transfer vehicle for many.
Supreme Court holds North Carolina cannot tax trust lacking minimum contact
The tax violated due process where the only connection to the state was beneficiaries' residence there, the Court states.
Digital assets after death
Estate planning should account for a client’s digital assets, which often have significant financial or sentimental value.
Supreme Court holds North Carolina cannot tax trust
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision holding that North Carolina’s attempt to tax a trust based solely on the residence of a beneficiary violates the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Avoid tax traps with a timely appraisal
New basis-consistency requirements make defensible valuations even more important.
Can a state tax a trust based on the beneficiary’s residency?
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that will decide whether states can tax trusts based solely on the fact that a trust beneficiary lives in the state.
Estate and gift exclusion clawback addressed in proposed regs.
A special rule allows the TCJA's higher exclusion amount to continue to apply in some instances after the provision's scheduled sunset.
Trust and estate income tax returns under the TCJA
The law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act affects many aspects of these so-called fiduciary returns.
Estate and gift exclusion clawback addressed in proposed regs.
The IRS addressed issues and made conforming revisions arising from the temporary increase in basic exclusion amount for estate and gift tax enacted by legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Trust and estate tax planning article wins JofA Best Article Award
Sonja E. Pippin, associate professor in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems at the University of Nevada, Reno, received the JofA's Lawler Award for the best article of 2017.
Tax overhaul may fuel life settlement industry
A doubled estate/gift tax exemption makes policies less necessary, while more favorable basis rules decrease gain on their sale.
