What is reported on Form 706?
John Thompson
Published Mar 29, 2026
The executor of a decedent’s estate uses Form 706 to figure the estate tax imposed by Chapter 11 of the Internal Revenue Code. Form 706 is also used to compute the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax imposed by Chapter 13 on direct skips.
What type of property is reported on Form 706 Schedule A?
An estate’s administrator must complete Schedule A: Real Estate when filing Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return if a probate estate contains any real estate or interest in real estate. Include all the necessary information for the real estate you report on this schedule.
What is reported on Form 706 Schedule E?
Use Schedule E: Jointly Owned Property, when filing federal estate tax returns (Form 706), if the decedent held property of any kind jointly at his or her death. The amount of the property includible in the taxable estate depends on the decedent’s interest in the property.
Who must file a Form 706?
If the decedent is a U.S. citizen or resident and decedent’s death occurred in 2016, an estate tax return (Form 706) must be filed if the gross estate of the decedent, increased by the decedent’s adjusted taxable gifts and specific gift tax exemption, is valued at more than the filing threshold for the year of the …
Form 706 reports the value of a decedent’s estate—the property the deceased left to his or her heirs. CPA John Pace, senior manager with the wealth transfer group at the Fort Worth, Texas, office of Weaver and Tidwell, LLP, says the form “is like a balance sheet at the date of death.”
Who files federal estate tax return?
This return must be filed for the estate of every decedent with property in California whose date of death is on or after June 8, 1982 and before January 1, 2005, if a Federal Estate Tax Return (IRS Form 706) is required to be filed. This return must be filed by the personal representative of the estate.
What do you need to know about Form 706?
Instructions for Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return United States Additional Estate Tax Return Instructions for Form 706-A, United States Additional Estate Tax Return Certification of Payment of Foreign Death Tax Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Return for Distributions
When to file Form 706 for estate tax?
How to File IRS Form 706: United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return. IRS Form 706 is used to report estate and/or GST tax within nine months after the date of the decedent’s death.
When to request a closing letter on Form 706?
To allow time for processing, please wait at least 9 months after filing Form 706 to request a closing letter. Instead of an estate tax closing letter, the executor of the estate may request an account transcript, which reflects transactions including the acceptance of Form 706 and the completion of an examination.
When to use Form 706 taxable gift reconciliation?
Worksheet TG—Taxable Gifts Reconciliation allows you to reconcile the decedent’s lifetime taxable gifts to figure totals that will be used for the Line 4 Worksheet and the Line 7 Worksheet. You must have all of the decedent’s gift tax returns (Forms 709) before completing Worksheet TG—Taxable Gifts Reconciliation.