Fifteen Key Points to Follow in Preparing Federal Estate and Gift Tax Returns By Edward Kessel, Esq. No tax practitioner wants an I.R.S. audit or wants to experience processing problems that delay the receipt of an I.R.S. closing letter. Not infrequently, problems that tax return preparers experience with the Internal Revenue Service are simply a result of not understanding the key items that the Service looks at when processing returns. It often takes as long as 9-12 months for the I.R.S. Service Center to resolve the issue. In the interim, it can be difficult to trace payments or to locate the tax return.
Similar problems can occur if the return preparer simply mistypes the taxpayer's number.
The return preparer should be especially sensitive to this type of error. If the decedent had no social security number, one must be requested before filing the return. Another common mistake is filing the estate tax return under the EIN of the estate. For purposes of filing a Form 706 Estate Tax Return, the decedent's social security number controls. For purposes of filing 1041 Fiduciary Income Tax Returns an EIN number must be obtained for the estate.