§2204 Discharge of Fiduciary From Personal Liability

Summary

Allows an executor to ask the IRS in writing to decide how much estate tax is owed and to be freed from personal responsibility. The IRS must tell the executor the amount no later than 9 months after the request (or, if the request was made before the return was filed, within 9 months after the return is filed), but not after the assessment period in section 6501. If the executor pays that amount (except any part with a payment extension under sections 6161, 6163, or 6166) and gives any required bond for extended payments, the executor is freed from later personal responsibility for tax shortfalls and gets written proof of the discharge. A person other than the executor who manages the estate (not for estates of nonresident decedents) can make the same written request. The IRS will reply after the executor is discharged or 6 months after that person’s request, whichever is later. The request must include the document naming the person, a description of the property, and any other information the IRS asks for. After paying, providing a bond, or getting a notice that no tax is owed, that person is freed from later personal responsibility and gets written proof. An agreement under section 6324A counts as the bond for 6166 delays. If an executor relied in good faith on gift tax returns under section 6103(e)(3), the executor is not personally liable for tax shortfalls tied to gifts made more than 3 years before death that were not shown on those returns.