Form 56

(Rev. July 2004) Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship OMB No. 1545-0013

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service (Internal Revenue Code sections 6036 and 6903)

Identification

Name of person for whom you are acting (as shown on the tax return) Identifying number

Address of person for whom you are acting (number, street, and room or suite no.)

City or town, state, and ZIP code (If a foreign address, see instructions.)

Fiduciary’s name

Address of fiduciary (number, street, and room or suite no.)

City or town, state, and ZIP code Telephone number (optional)

Authority

1 Authority for fiduciary relationship. Check applicable box:

a(1) Will and codicils or court order appointing fiduciary (2) Date of death

b(1) Court order appointing fiduciary (2) Date (see instructions)

c Valid trust instrument and amendments

d Other. Describe  

Nature of Liability and Tax Notices

2 Type of tax (estate, gift, generation-skipping transfer, income, excise, etc.)  

3 Federal tax form number (706, 1040, 1041, 1120, etc.)  

4 Year(s) or period(s) (if estate tax, date of death) 

Revocation or Termination of Notice

Section A—Total Revocation or Termination

Check this box if you are revoking or terminating all prior notices concerning fiduciary relationships on file with the Internal

Revenue Service for the same tax matters and years or periods covered by this notice concerning fiduciary relationship 

7

Reason for termination of fiduciary relationship. Check applicable box:

a Court order revoking fiduciary authority

b Certificate of dissolution or termination of a business entity

c Other. Describe 

Section B—Partial Revocation

Check this box if you are revoking earlier notices concerning fiduciary relationships on file with the Internal Revenue Service for

the same tax matters and years or periods covered by this notice concerning fiduciary relationship 

8a

Specify to whom granted, date, and address, including ZIP code.



b

For Paperwork Reduction Act and Privacy Act Notice, see back page. Form 56 (Rev. 7-2004)

Part IV

Part I

Part II

Part III

( )

Cat. No. 16375I

Decedent’s social security no.

5 If the fiduciary listed in Part I is the person to whom notices and other written communications should be sent for all items

described on lines 2, 3, and 4, check here 

6 If the fiduciary listed in Part I is the person to whom notices and other written communications should be sent for some (but not all)

of the items described on lines 2, 3, and 4, check here  and list the applicable Federal tax form number and the year(s) or

period(s) applicable

Section C—Substitute Fiduciary

Check this box if a new fiduciary or fiduciaries have been or will be substituted for the revoking or terminating fiduciary and

specify the name(s) and address(es), including ZIP code(s), of the new fiduciary(ies) 

9


Court and Administrative Proceedings

Name of court (if other than a court proceeding, identify the type of proceeding and name of agency) Date proceeding initiated

Address of court Docket number of proceeding

City or town, state, and ZIP code Date Time a.m. Place of other proceedings

p.m.

I certify that I have the authority to execute this notice concerning fiduciary relationship on behalf of the taxpayer.

Please

Sign

Here  Fiduciary’s signature Title, if applicable Date

Page 2

Part V

Form 56 (Rev. 7-2004)

Part VI Signature

Form 56 (Rev. 7-2004)
Form 56 (Rev. 7-2004) Page 3

General Instructions

Terminating entities. A terminating

entity, such as a corporation,

partnership, trust, etc., only has the legal

capacity to establish a fiduciary

Part II—Authority

Line 1a. Check the box on line 1a if the

decedent died testate (i.e., having left a

valid will) and enter the decedent’s date

of death.

Definitions

Fiduciary. A fiduciary is any person

acting in a fiduciary capacity for any

other person (or terminating entity), such

as an administrator, conservator,

designee, executor, guardian, receiver,

trustee of a trust, trustee in bankruptcy,

personal representative, person in

possession of property of a decedent’s

estate, or debtor-in-possession of assets

in any bankruptcy proceeding by order

of the court.

Line 1b. Check the box on line 1b if the

decedent died intestate (i.e., without

leaving a valid will). Also, enter the

decedent’s date of death and write

“Date of Death” next to the date.

Assignment for the benefit of

creditors. Enter the date the assets

were assigned to you and write

“Assignment Date” after the date.

Person. A person is any individual, trust,

estate, partnership, association,

company or corporation.

Proceedings other than bankruptcy.

Enter the date you were appointed or

took possession of the assets of the

debtor or other person whose assets are

controlled.

Decedent’s estate. A decedent’s estate

is a taxable entity separate from the

decedent that comes into existence at

the time of the decedent’s death. It

generally continues to exist until the final

distribution of the estate’s assets is

made to the heirs and other

beneficiaries.

Part III—Nature of Liability

and Tax Notices

Line 2. Specify the type of tax involved.

This line should also identify a transferee

tax liability under section 6901 or

fiduciary tax liability under 31 U.S.C.

3713(b) when either exists.

Purpose of Form

When and Where To File

Notice of fiduciary relationship.

Generally, you should file Form 56 when

you create (or terminate) a fiduciary

relationship. File Form 56 with the

Internal Revenue Service Center where

the person for whom you are acting is

required to file tax returns.

Proceedings (other than bankruptcy)

and assignments for the benefit of

creditors. A fiduciary who is appointed

or authorized to act as:

● A receiver in a receivership proceeding

or similar fiduciary (including a fiduciary

in aid of foreclosure), or

● An assignee for the benefit of

creditors, must file Form 56 on, or within

10 days of, the date of appointment with

the Chief, Special Procedures Staff, of

the area office of the IRS having

jurisdiction over the person for whom

you are acting.

Who Should File

The fiduciary (see Definitions below)

uses Form 56 to notify the IRS of the

creation or termination of a fiduciary

relationship under section 6903. For

example, if you are acting as fiduciary

for an individual, a decedent’s estate, or

a trust, you may file Form 56.

Specific Instructions

Part I—Identification

Provide all the information called for in

this part. If there is more than one

fiduciary, each fiduciary must file (or

otherwise give notice) a separate

Form 56.

You must notify the IRS of the creation

or termination of a fiduciary relationship

under section 6903 and give notice of

qualification under section 6036. You

may use Form 56 to provide this notice

to the IRS.

Address. Include the suite, room, or

other unit number after the street

address.

If the postal service does not deliver

mail to the street address and the

fiduciary (or person) has a P.O. box,

show the box number instead of the

street address.

Section references are to the Internal

Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

Receivers and assignees for the

benefit of creditors also file Form 56 to

give notice of qualification under section

6036. However, a bankruptcy trustee,

debtor-in-possession, or other like

fiduciary in a bankruptcy proceeding is

not required to give notice of

qualification under section 6036.

Trustees, etc., in bankruptcy

proceedings are subject to the notice

requirements under title 11 of the United

States Code (Bankruptcy Rules).

The receiver or assignee may also file

a separate Form 56 with the service

center where the person for whom the

fiduciary is acting is required to file tax

returns to provide the notice required by

section 6903.

Identifying number. If you are acting for

an individual, an individual debtor, or

other person whose assets are

controlled, the identifying number is the

social security number (SSN). If you are

acting for a person other than an

individual, including an estate or trust,

the identifying number is the employer

identification number (EIN).

final Form 1040 in the space provided. If

you are acting on behalf of a decedent’s

estate that must file a Form 706, United

States Estate (and Generation-Skipping

Transfer) Tax Return, enter the

decedent’s SSN in addition to entering

the EIN (if applicable) as discussed

above under Identifying number.

For a foreign address, enter the

information in the following order: city,

province or state, and country. Follow

the country’s practice for entering the

postal code. Please do not abbreviate

the country name.

You must be prepared to

furnish evidence that

substantiates your authority to

act as a fiduciary for the

person for whom you are acting.

Name. File a separate Form 56 for each

person for whom you are acting in a

fiduciary capacity. For example, if you

will be filing the decedent’s final Form

1040 and are the executor/administrator

of the decedent’s estate, file one Form

56 entering the name of the decedent as

the person for whom you are acting and

file one Form 56 entering the name of

the estate as the name of the person for

whom you are acting.

CAUTION

Line 5. If you check the box on line 5,

we will treat your address as the

address for IRS notices and

correspondence for the form(s) and

period(s) listed on lines 3 and 4.

Line 6. If you check the box on line 6,

we will treat your address as the

address for IRS notices and

correspondence for the form(s) and

period(s) that you list on line 6.

relationship while it is in existence.

Establishing a fiduciary relationship prior

to termination of the entity allows the

fiduciary to represent the entity on all tax

matters after it is terminated. Form 56 cannot be used to

update the last known address

of the person for whom you

are acting. Use Form 8822,

Change of Address, to make this

change.

CAUTION

Decedent’s SSN. If you are acting on

behalf of a decedent, enter the

decedent’s SSN shown on his or her
Form 56 (Rev. 7-2004) Page 4

The time needed to complete and file

this form will vary depending on

individual circumstances. The estimated

average time is:

Recordkeeping 8 min.

Learning about the

law or the form 32 min.

Preparing the form 46 min.

Copying, assembling, and

sending the form to the IRS 15 min.

If you have comments concerning the

accuracy of these time estimates or

suggestions for making this form

simpler, we would be happy to hear

from you. You can write to the Tax

Products Coordinating Committee,

Western Area Distribution Center,

Rancho Cordova, CA 95743-0001. Do

not send Form 56 to this address.

Instead, see When and Where To File on

the prior page.

Part IV—Revocation or

Termination of Notice

Complete this part only if you are

revoking or terminating a prior notice

concerning a fiduciary relationship.

Completing this part will relieve you of

any further duty or liability as a fiduciary

if used as a notice of termination.

However, completing Section B or C

does not relieve any new or substitute

fiduciary of the requirement to file a

Form 56 or to otherwise give notice.

Part V—Court and

Administrative Proceedings

Complete this part only if you have been

appointed a receiver, trustee, or fiduciary

by a court or other governmental unit in

a proceeding other than a bankruptcy

proceeding.

If proceedings are scheduled for more

than one date, time, or place, attach a

separate schedule of the proceedings.

1. A brief description of the assets

that were assigned, and

2. An explanation of the action to be

taken regarding such assets, including

any hearings, meetings of creditors, sale,

or other scheduled action.

Part VI—Signature

Sign Form 56 and enter a title describing

your role as a fiduciary (e.g., assignee,

executor, guardian, trustee, personal

representative, receiver, or conservator).

Assignment for the benefit of

creditors. You must attach the following

information:

Paperwork Reduction Act and Privacy

Act Notice. We ask for the information

on this form to carry out the Internal

Revenue laws of the United States. Form

56 is provided for your convenience and

its use is voluntary. Under section 6109

you must disclose the social security

number or employer identification

number of the individual or entity for

which you are acting. The principal

purpose of this disclosure is to secure

proper identification of the taxpayer. We

also need this information to gain access

to the tax information in our files and

properly respond to your request. If you

do not disclose this information, we may

suspend processing the notice of

fiduciary relationship and not consider

this as proper notification until you

provide the information.

You are not required to provide the

information requested on a form that is

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act

unless the form displays a valid OMB

control number. Books or records

relating to a form or its instructions must

be retained as long as their contents

may become material in the

administration of any Internal Revenue

law. Generally, tax returns and return

information are confidential as required

by section 6103.