Probate & Trust Law Section Conference Manual ... - Minnesota CLE

If the Fiduciary is released from personal liability for any such income or
gift tax, the IRS may still assess deficiencies against the Fiduciary in his or
her fiduciary (not individual) capacity, and may collect the taxes due from
assets of the estate (provided the limitations period for assessment and
collection has not run).
iii. In addition, a Fiduciary may also file IRS Form 4810 to request prompt
assessment of any income (individual or fiduciary) tax or gift tax,
including any tax that may be due on returns filed by the decedent that are
still “open” under the statute of limitations. If a request for prompt
assessment is made, the statute of limitations for assessment is shortened
from three years to 18 months, but not beyond three years after the return
was filed. Thus, if the statute of limitations will run prior to the shortened
assessment period, filing the request for prompt assessment will not
extend that period.
Note, however, that if the request is made where there is a surviving
spouse who filed a joint return with decedent, the assessment period will
not be shortened for the surviving spouse, who will remain jointly and
severally liable for the decedent’s tax liability.
A review of Estate of Walker v. Commissioner, 90 T.C. 253 (1988) is a
prime example of why it is important for the Fiduciary to make the
request. In this case, the IRS sent a personal representative a notice of
deficiency within three years after the tax return filing but after the estate
had been distributed and after the probate court had discharged the
personal representative from liability. The personal representative had not
made a request for prompt assessment and, unfortunately, the notice of
deficiency was therefore held to be timely.
Minnesota’s corresponding request can be made on Form M22. Similar to
the IRS, the request shortens the statute of limitations on auditing the
income tax return from 3½ years to 18 months (from the date of filing).
Estate tax returns are not eligible for the request.
iv. There is a separate request for discharge of personal liability regarding
estate taxes due. I.R.C. §2204(a) provides that a Fiduciary may make
written application for the prompt determination of the estate tax and for
discharge of personal liability for payment. The request should be made
to the same IRS Service Center where the estate tax return was filed.
There is no IRS form for this request. Once the request is made, the IRS
has nine months to notify the Fiduciary of any estate tax deficiency and,
upon payment of such additional tax, the Fiduciary is discharged from
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