New IRS Handling of Certificate of Discharge for Property with Estate Tax Lien

Formerly handled by the local IRS Estate and Gift Tax Group, the IRS Collection Advisory Group will now be handling applications for certificate of discharge of property subject to an estate tax lien. With this new oversight comes more stringent standards than before. One of those requirements forces the estate to agree to escrow all of the net proceeds from a sale and receive a federal estate tax closing letter before issuing a discharge. Surprisingly, this new change was instituted without opportunity for comment. 

See Austin T. Wilkie, IRS Certificate Discharging Estate Tax Lien – New Policy – Proceeds Held Until Closing Letter Issued, N.Y. State Bar Association, October 6, 2016. 

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.