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New Estate Tax Lien Discharge Procedures — Give the IRS All the Monies

Posted on May 8, 2017

In early April, the IRS issued updated guidance relating to the processing of the estate tax liens after June of 2016. See SBSE-05-0417-0011.   In June of 2016, various changes were made to the administration of the estate tax, including which groups in SBSE handled requests for the discharge of the estate tax lien.  The changes to the discharge were fairly drastic in some ways, and the Service took a significant amount of time getting around to announcing the changes (which it states is actually just the correct implementation of the law, perhaps implying the prior handling was incorrect).  The new provisions appear to force prepayment of tax, or at least handing over the funds, in exchange for the discharge of the lien in a broader range of situations, potentially creating a significant hardship for estates.  This has caught many estate administration lawyers off guard, altering sales, and angering many in the professional community.

The estate tax lien is somewhat different than other tax liens, and arises in every estate (you just don’t know it most of the time).  Under Section 6324(a), a lien is immediately imposed on all property in the “gross estate” of the decedent.  This includes property passing through the estate, but also most property passing directly to a beneficiary by operation of law, such as property held joint with right of survivorship, and most property passing by beneficiary designation.  As stated in the IRS guidance:

Unlike other tax liens, no assessment, no notice and no demand for payment are necessary to create the estate tax lien. It attaches at the time of the decedent’s death, before the tax is determined, and is security for any estate taxes that may be determined to be due. It is referred to as the “silent lien” and does not have to be recorded to be enforced.

Sneaky stuff, but arguably provides important protection for the Fed.  This lien attaches and remains in place for ten years after the date of death unless discharged.  There are some provisions extending the lien in circumstances where the estate tax is deferred, such as under Section 6166, but otherwise the use-by date is set at ten years.  As a side note, it is possible for a general tax lien to also be imposed under Section 6321, which could be in place longer, so in dealing with a lien estate tax practitioner must determine if one or both are in place.  See IRM 5.5.8.2.  For those looking to learn more about this lien, Keith and Les recently drafted chapter 14A.20 in SaltzBook, which covers the lien in depth, along with the transferee liability, how to request discharge, and various other interesting aspects of the “silent lien.”

As indicated above, the lien is imposed immediately, while the audit could take months or years to occur, if ever at all.  Various situations would not be audited or do not require returns.  This can create issues, especially for illiquid estates, that need funds for administration costs.  If a fiduciary sought to transfer assets, especially when finicky title insurance and mortgage companies were involved, assurances would be needed that the property could be transferred free and clear.

Under the old rules, release or discharge was handled by different groups depending on whether a return was filed or audit was occurring.  If no return was filed or a return was under audit, Exam reviewed the request. This used to be outlined in IRM 4.25.14.2, which has subsequently been updated to indicate Exam will no longer be handling discharge requests.  Specialty Collection Advisory used to handle all other requests relating to the estate tax lien, which was covered under IRM 5.5.8 and IRM 5.12.10.

The prior procedures would allow the fiduciary to request a discharge of the lien on the property to be sold by filing a Form 4422, Application for Certificate of Discharging Property Subject to the Estate Tax Lien. This was fairly routine in the past and occurred quickly, allowing property to be sold and estates to obtain the proceeds.  This was allowed under Section 6325 if the lien was “fully satisfied or provided for.”  Presumably, the “provided for” language was what was relied upon prior to payment and the issuance of a closely letter.  The regulations added some additional requirements regarding “necessity” of the estate.

In SBSE-05-0417-0011, the Service outlined the new procedures for requesting discharge, and it appears the conditions for obtaining discharge have become a bit more strict.  Beginning in June of 2016, responsibly for all discharge applications of the estate tax lien were shifted to Advisory to be handled by its “Estate Tax Lien Group.”   Information about requesting the discharge, including the address to send such requests, is found on the IRS webpage here.  The directions provide that such requests must be filed “at least 45 days before the transaction date”, which is roughly a month or more longer than such requests used to take.  This is irksome, but not as problematic as some other changes that have been made.

After noting discharge is completely discretionary, the advice indicates considerations that Advisory may take into account, including situations where Advisory does not need to consult with Exam prior to issuing a discharge, stating:

In many instances, decisions concerning the discharge application can be made from the information provided on the Form 706 (if applicable) and the Form 4422 without the need to coordinate with Examination Estate & Gift. For example, if based on the information provided with the Form 4422 and internal account records you are able to determine that the estate tax liability has been paid, or the estate is not subject to a Form 706 filing requirement, or the value of other property disclosed on the Form 4422 that will remain subject to the estate tax lien is more than ample to protect the government’s interest in the payment of the estate tax, coordination with Examination Estate &Gift is not ordinarily necessary (emph. added).

The advice goes on to cover situations where Advisory will need to coordinate with Exam or Chief Counsel when considering discharge.  I emphasized some language in the above quote, because that language would seem to indicate discharge is appropriate where there is clearly more than sufficient other assets to timely pay the estate tax, which historically occurred.  Other language would give the same impression:

In many instances, in determining whether to grant an estate tax lien discharge, the issue you will need to consider is whether the estate tax liability is adequately provided for, meaning that the government’s interest in collecting the estate tax is secured… In determining whether an estate tax liability is adequately provided for, you have discretion and should exercise your judgment in making that decision based on the particular circumstances…[and] you may also consider the criteria in IRC § 6325(b) as a guideline in making your decision as the estate tax liability will generally be adequately provided for when one or more of the IRC § 6325(b) criteria set forth below is satisfied. In addition, there may be other circumstances where you and your manager determine that the estate tax liability has been adequately provided for under the particular circumstance involved.

This again would indicate payment at the time of discharge is not required, although gets a little thornier perhaps by reference to Section 6325(b), which allows for discharge in various circumstances, such as having double the potential liability available, partial payment, substitution of proceeds at sale, substitution of other assets (deposits, bonds, etc.).

The advice then covers some common scenarios.  For instance, if no Form 706 is required to be filed, no discharge is offered, and instead  Letter 1352 is issued indicating no return must be filed.  When a return is required, but no tax is due, the advice indicates escrow may not be needed.  But, if there are questions as to the veracity of the claim, additional research may be needed, and perhaps escrow.

Then  it starts to get problematic, stating:

if the Form 4422 shows an estimated estate tax greater than the net proceeds from the property being sold, and no estimated payment has been made, then the net proceeds should be paid or escrowed before granting the discharge.

For an estate that is illiquid, holding only real property or closely held business interests, this could be very problematic.  And, anecdotally, it appears some estates are running into this issue.  Although the estate tax is a priority claim, there are various other administration costs that can be paid first (my fave, attorneys’ fees).  It could also impact the payment of state death taxes, the timing of which can be more important that federal taxes.  In Pennsylvania, for instance, prepayment of inheritance tax at the three month mark will provide a five percent discount off the tax bill.  At least one tax practitioner has requested some type of hardship request from having to pay over the funds, and been rebuffed.

It also brings into question what will happen for someone who would have requested an extension to pay tax under Section 6161 or Section 6166.  I suppose the funds could be escrowed until the return is filed, but the funds may have been needed to run a closely held company or pay another debt.

I do not necessarily begrudge the IRS attempting to ensure payment, but this seems like an attempt to solve a problem that may not have existed.  I would be interested in seeing whether or not the IRS often gets stiffed on federal estate tax by people who request a discharge and have indicated tax may be due (my suspicion is no, but I could be wrong).  If this is not a problem, it seems like this change that can drastically and negatively impact estate administration (and potentially the value of estate assets) is misguided.  It would also be good if the IRS became a bit more flexible on a case by case basis – there cannot be that many of these per year — which the guidance seems to still allow.  From the anecdotal evidence, it would seem that the factors in Section 6325(b) may have been applicable in having assets worth double the tax debt still under the lien, but funds have still had to be paid or escrowed.

The take away for now is that 1) you have to apply much more in advance from closing and 2) if you need the proceeds from the sale, you probably need to make a compelling argument under Section 6325(b) why the fisc would be lighter for it.

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