AICPA urges Treasury and IRS to grant 60-Day extension of filing deadline for consistent basis reporting

In a March 4 letter, theAICPA urged the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS to delay the estate basis reporting due date from March 31, 2016 until May 31 due to proposed regulations covering the new reporting requirements not issued until March 2, 2016. 

The AICPA’s letter states that the 29 days between the release of the proposed regulations and the March 31 due date is “not sufficient time” for taxpayers and practitioners to be aware of the proposed regulations and to review, analyze, and implement them during tax season. Instead, the requested 60-day extension to May 31 would help practitioners analyze the changes after tax filing season.

Additionally, the letter made note that Schedule A of the new IRS Form 8971,Information Regarding Beneficiaries Acquiring Property from a Decedent, requires an asset listing and that software providers must have time to update their software in order for practitioners to compile the required information, especially when an asset is being split between multiple beneficiaries. Most importantly, the AICPA writes, are returns where there is a significant volume of assets that require updated software to bridge the data.

The AICPA stated that it plans to provide additional comments on the proposed regulations.

For the full letter, head to the AICPA'ssite here.