Identifying and Repairing Form 709 Gift Tax and GST Return Reporting Errors

Tax advisers and estate planners frequently encounter clients that have made a reportable gift but have failed to file an accurate Form 709 Gift Tax Return. In some scenarios, gift tax return errors have critical and far-reaching effects for the taxpayer and the taxpayer's family. Tax advisers must identify and fix the most common gift reporting errors.

The most common error in gift tax reporting involves taxpayers making reportable gifts but failing to file a Form 709 to disclose the transaction. In most cases, taxpayers are not aware of the requirement to file, particularly if the gift is to a spouse but subject to reporting requirements, such as a gift of a terminable interest or a future interest.

Additional and more complex issues arise when a taxpayer has made a "split gift" that fails to account for the spouse's share of the gift tax exemption, or where the originally filed Form 709 incorrectly allocated the generation-skipping tax exemption. Additionally, powers of appointment commonly found in estate and trust documents can present complicated gift tax reporting issues, depending on how those powers are structured and/or exercised.

Tax advisers and estate planners must identify errors in previous gift tax reporting and advise clients on remedying prior years' gift tax reporting errors to avoid tax issues in subsequent years.

Listen as our experienced panel discusses identifying gift tax reporting errors, and the remedies to those errors, including correcting GST exemptions and amending Form 709.

1. What transactions must be reported on a Form 709 Gift Tax Return
2. GST exemption allocations on a Form 709 Gift Tax Return
3. Identifying circumstances where taxpayers failed to file a required gift tax return
4. Fixing incorrectly reported split gifts
5. Repairing incorrect GST exemption allocations on gift tax and GST returns

The panel will discuss these and other important topics:

• Identifying circumstances where a client failed to file a required Form 709 Gift Tax Return
• Failure to accurately account for a split gift
• Errors in GST exemption allocation
• Impact of powers of appointment on gift tax returns

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Identify situations where a taxpayer should file a gift tax return but often fails to do so
• Discern an adviser's or estate planner's duty to file an amended or remedial gift tax return
• Recognize when a gift tax return error requires filing of a generation-skipping tax return
• Determine when a gift-splitting error must be reported on an amended Form 709 return

• Field of Study: Taxes
• Level of Knowledge: Intermediate
• Advance Preparation: None
• Teaching Method: Seminar/Lecture
• Delivery Method: Group-Internet (via computer)
• Attendance Monitoring Method: Attendance is monitored electronically via a participant's PIN and through a series of attendance verification prompts displayed throughout the program
• Prerequisite: Three years+ business or public firm experience at mid-level within the organization, preparing complex tax forms and schedules, supervising other preparers/accountants. Specific knowledge and understanding of gift tax reporting requirements, specific knowledge of generation-skipping tax rules; familiarity with gift tax lifetime exclusions, familiarity with rules covering allocation of GST exemptions.

Strafford Publications, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of Accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE Credits. Complaints regarding registered sponsons may be submitted to NASBA through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

IRS Approved Provider

Strafford is an IRS-approved continuing education provider offering certified courses for Enrolled Agents (EA) and Tax Return Preparers (RTRP).