The IRS has announced that closing letters will not be issued automatically starting in 2015 and that a specific request must be made to the service to get one. This fact, combined with the four months or more that will be required to receive the letter, may cause problems for those that are due to receive distributions from an estate. This is due to the fact that probate courts usually require closing letters before an estate is considered closed and all money paid out to the beneficiaries. However, the IRS will now issue account transcripts that will show if the account examination has been completed or not. But it is yet to be seen if probate courts will accept these transcripts for the same purpose as a closing letter which means that uncertainty will reign for the time being over the process to bring the probate process to a close.
See Charles Rubin, IRS Suggests Using Transcripts in Lieu of Estate Tax Closing Letter, Rubin On Tax, December 9, 2015.
Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
