Overview
Tax Court Rules on Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion: Today, the Tax Court issued an opinion in Estate of Minnie Lynn Sower v. Commissioner. The court held that the IRS could examine the estate state tax return of a predeceased spouse to determine the correct deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE) amount under section 2010(c)(5)(B). The court also held that the statute of limitations for the estate of the predeceased spouse is not implicated if the IRS does not determine an estate tax deficiency for the estate of the predeceased spouse.
Tax Court Holds Wrong Return Triggers Statute of Limitations Under Certain Conditions: Today, in a memorandum opinion, the Tax Court upheld the test articulated in Beard v. Commissioner stating that if a taxpayer files the wrong type of return, that wrong return will be sufficient to trigger the running of the statute of limitations so long as it satisfies four conditions: (1) the document must contain sufficient data to calculate tax liability; (2) the document must purport to be a return; (3) there must be an honest and reasonable attempt to satisfy the requirements of the tax law; and (4) the taxpayer must have executed the document under penalties of perjury.