{"id":1022,"date":"2016-03-28T17:46:57","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T17:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mcdlawyers.net\/?p=1022"},"modified":"2016-04-06T15:23:42","modified_gmt":"2016-04-06T15:23:42","slug":"estate-tax-filers-new-irs-filing-requirement-for-2016-form-8971","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mcdlawyers.net\/?p=1022","title":{"rendered":"ESTATE TAX FILERS – NEW IRS FILING REQUIREMENT FOR 2016 \u2013 FORM 8971"},"content":{"rendered":"

ES<\/strong>TATE TAX FILERS – NEW IRS FILING REQUIREMENT FOR 2016 \u2013 FORM 8971<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2016 by Michael S. Demian<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Al<\/strong>l Rights Reserved.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you filed an Estate Tax Return after July 2015, the IRS is now requiring you to also file Form 8971 (and accompanying Schedule(s) A) before March 31, 2016<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0The purpose of this form is to ensure that information on property values reported to the IRS by Executors and qualified heirs is consistent with the information reported by beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

What is the new requirement: <\/strong>The IRS is requiring Form 8971 to be filed for virtually every Estate that was required to file a Form 706 Estate Tax Return after <\/em>July 31, 2015.\u00a0 \u00a0Form 8971 requires a Schedule A also be sent to each<\/u> beneficiary<\/u> <\/em><\/strong>prior to the deadline, in addition to being filed with the IRS. \u00a0Proposed Regulation \u00a71.6035-2 explains that this form is NOT required for situations when an estate tax return filing is not required under Section \u00a06018, such as making a portability election.<\/p>\n

Who must file: \u00a0<\/strong>An Executor of an Estate, qualified heir or other person who was required to file Form 706, 706A or<\/p>\n

706-NA after July 2015 (whether or not the form was filed on time).<\/p>\n

What must be filed: \u00a0<\/strong>A completed Form 8971 along with attached Schedule(s) A must be filed with the IRS. \u00a0Each beneficiary listed in Form 8971 must also be sent a copy of their Schedule(s) A.\u00a0 \u00a0Please note that Form 8971 is a separate <\/em>filing requirement from the Estate\u2019s Form 706, 706A, and 706-NA. This means that this form should NOT be attached to the Estate Tax Return.<\/p>\n

D<\/strong>e<\/strong>adline for filing: \u00a0<\/strong>Filings with the IRS of Form 8971 and Schedule(s) A, as well as copies of Schedule(s) A sent to beneficiaries must be completed by the earlier of<\/u> <\/em>1) 30 days after the date that Form 706, 706A, or 706-NA is required to be filed, or 2) 30 days after the date which such forms were actually filed. \u00a0Note that all filings and beneficiary notices are due no later than March 31, 2016<\/u> <\/em>(amended from instructions, which state a deadline of February 29, 2016).<\/p>\n

Other things to keep in mind: \u00a0<\/strong>Beneficiaries can be provided Schedule(s) A either in person, through email, by U.S. mail, or by private delivery service. \u00a0The person filing Form 8971 must indicate on the form the date that the beneficiary(ies) were provided the Schedule(s) A and must also keep proof of mailing, delivery, acknowledgement of receipt, or other supporting documentation of delivery. \u00a0The value listed on Form 8971 and attached Schedule(s) A should be the fair market value <\/em>of the asset as reported on the Estate Tax Return.<\/p>\n

For further instructions and information on penalties, etc., please see Instructions for Form 8971 and Schedule A at https<\/a>:<\/a>\/\/<\/a>www<\/a>.<\/a>irs<\/a>.<\/a>gov\/pub\/irs<\/a>–<\/a>pdf\/i<\/a>8971<\/a>.<\/a>pdf<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0One can find an electronic copy of Form 8971 at this link: https<\/a>:<\/a>\/\/<\/a>www<\/a>.<\/a>irs<\/a>.<\/a>gov\/pub\/irs<\/a>–<\/a>pdf\/f<\/a>8971<\/a>.<\/a>pdf<\/a>.<\/u><\/p>\n

Please feel free to \u00a0contact our\u00a0 office with\u00a0 any questions or \u00a0concerns you \u00a0may \u00a0have regarding this new filing requirement and\/or your estate plans.<\/p>\n

2070 Pioneer Court
\nSan Mateo, CA 94403
\nTel 650-572-7933
\nFax 650-572-0834<\/p>\n

McDowall Cotter<\/a>\u00a0provides comprehensive legal services in three areas of practice: civil litigation; business; and wealth preservation. To learn more visit us at\u00a0https:\/\/mcdlawyers.net<\/a>. We are a San Mateo based law firm and for more than 50 years, McDowall Cotter’s chief objective has been to deliver exemplary legal services that are personalized, effective and efficient.<\/p>\n

ATTENTION \u2013 As per IRS Notice 2016-27, the deadline for filing Form 8971<\/b> and the accompanying Schedule A forms (sent to beneficiaries) has been extended once again to June 30, 2016<\/span><\/span><\/u><\/b>.\u00a0 This requirement still applies to all executors and other individuals required to file a Form 706 for estate tax return purposes after July 31, 2015.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

For more information, please see our whitepaper published on March 28th<\/sup> and IRS Notice 2016-27 found at:\u00a0 https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/pub\/irs-drop\/n-16-27.pdf<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ESTATE TAX FILERS – NEW IRS FILING REQUIREMENT FOR 2016 \u2013 FORM 8971 \u00a9 2016 by Michael S. Demian. All Rights Reserved.   If you filed an Estate Tax Return […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-estate-planning"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcdlawyers.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcdlawyers.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcdlawyers.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcdlawyers.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcdlawyers.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mcdlawyers.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcdlawyers.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcdlawyers.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcdlawyers.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}