Practitioners Welcome IRS Extension of the 2010 Estate Tax Deadlines

On September 13, the IRS pushed back the due date for tax returns to be filed by the estates of wealthy individuals who died in 2010.  Large estates wishing to elect out of the estate tax will have until January 17, 2012 to file Form 8939.  Executors who file an application for extension by September 19, 2011, receive an automatic extension to March 19, 2012, to file Form 706 and pay the estate tax.  Practitioners agree that the extension gives them valuable time to determine whether to elect carryover basis for estates' assets.  Rebecca Wallenfelsz, a partner with Chapman and Cutler LLP in Chicago, welcomed the extension stating that making the determination whether to elect carryover basis for estates' assets can be a lengthy process.  Ronald D. Aucutt, a partner with McGuireWoods LLP, said the extension is welcome, especially given that neither Form 8939 nor its accompanying instructions have yet been issued. 

See Notice 2011-76 (Sept. 13, 2011) and News Release IR-2011-91 (Sept. 13, 2011).

Posted by William Alan Nelson II, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal