Get Form 706b

An estate tax closing letter indicates that the IRS has accepted an estate tax return and that the estate's federal tax liabilities have been satisfied. Once the letter has been received, it makes it clear to the executor of the estate that it can proceed with finalizing the estate administration process.

Contact Information at Frequently Asked Questions on Estate Taxes. Many general estate and gift tax law questions can still be answered by calling: 800-829-1040.

For those who wish to continue to receive estate tax closing letters, estates and their authorized representatives may call the IRS at (866) 699-4083 to request an estate tax closing letter no earlier than four months after the filing of the estate tax return.

This includes (a) cash, investments, retirement assets, tax-exempt assets, business assets, real and personal property; (b) probate, as well as jointly-held assets; (c) non-taxable assets exempt from taxation under the marital or charitable deductions; (d) life insurance and annuities, as well as special interests and ...

An estate tax return (Form 706) must be filed if the gross estate of the decedent (who is a U.S. citizen or resident), increased by the decedent's adjusted taxable gifts and specific gift tax exemption, is valued at more than the filing threshold for the year of the decedent's death, as shown in the table below.

The executor of a decedent's estate uses Form 706 to figure the estate tax imposed by Chapter 11 of the Internal Revenue Code.

How much is the fee for an ETCL? $67.00.

The generation-skipping transfer tax is paid by either the grantor or the skipped beneficiary. The grantor pays the direct generation-skipping tax while an indirect generation-skipping tax is paid by the skipped beneficiary.