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with respect to an estate (or with
respect to any property included
therein),
upon the filing of an appropriate pleading,
the Tax Court may make a declaration with
respect to whether such election may be made
or whether such extension has ceased to
apply. Any such declaration shall have the
force and effect of a decision of the Tax
Court and shall be reviewable as such.
II. Evolution of the Commissioner’s Position
The Commissioner has changed his position regarding whether
a bond is required for a section 6166 election four times over
the last 15 years.
In a 1987 IRS General Litigation Bulletin (GLB),4 the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) posed the question “Is a bond or
notice of lien required only if the personal representative seeks
discharge from personal liability for the estate tax?” IRS
General Litigation Bulletin No. 323 (Aug. 1987). The
Commissioner’s answer was that “An estate executor may elect to
extend the time for payment of the estate tax under IRC 6166
without either posting bond, or obtaining agreement to the
creation of an IRC 6324A lien. If neither is done, however, the
4Although General Litigation Bulletins are not precedent,
sec. 6110(k)(3), they “‘do reveal the interpretation put upon the
statute by the agency charged with the responsibility of
administering the revenue laws’”, Thurman v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 1998-233 (quoting Hanover Bank v. Commissioner, 369 U.S.
672, 686 (1962)).
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Last modified: November 10, 2007