IRS Answers AICPA’s Call for Action in Two Estate Tax-Related Areas
January 26, 2017
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has answered the call of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) for action in two areas: clarification of post-DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) estate, gift and generation skipping tax treatment procedures and a formal policy on estate tax closing letters.
In Notice 2017-15, the IRS offered some much needed clarity related to DOMA that the AICPA requested in October 2013. The IRS spelled out the procedures same-sex married couples should use to recalculate the transfer-tax treatment for property transferred to spouses before the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Section 3 of the DOMA. In light of this notice, practitioners should consider recalculating, as soon possible, the exclusion amount for same-sex spouses if prior Forms 709 have been filed. For more information, read the January 18 Journal of Accountancy story.
In Notice 2017-12, the IRS announced that taxpayers can rely on an account transcript in place of an estate tax closing letter to confirm that the IRS has closed its examination of an estate tax return. The AICPA requested a formal policy on the subject last year. For more details, read the January 6 article in The Tax Adviser.
