Irs.gov EIN
March 27th, 2009Question: Can I amend an Estate SS-4 from Calendar to Fiscal Year? How?
I am executor of my Dad’s estate. When first applying for the EIN, I made the estate a calendar year entity without realizing the tax consequences. I would have several more months before having to deal with tax issues if I could amend the SS-4 from calendar year to fiscal year reporting. Can a qualified YA member tell me how? I have searched the engines and the IRS.gov site.
No offense, but only those with qualifications to answer please. Thanks all.
Answer: You don't need to 'amend' the SS-4, as it does not bind the estate to the tax year you chose. The only thing that binds the tax year is the actual filing of the first tax return (form 1041). This is true even if you've already filed an extension showing calendar year.
That said, the IRS does have in its computers that the estate is a calendar year, so will assume the return is late if it doesn't receive anything by April 15. If you get a letter asking for a return, don't worry. Just file the return for the year you want.
Note that the first tax year cannot be longer than 12 months. For example, the tax year for the estate of a person who died April 7, 2007 could end at the end of any month from April 2007 through March 2008.
One last thing, the above all refers to the INCOME tax returns of the estate. Generally, an estate tax return must be filed on Form 706 as well, if the estate had gross assets in excess of the applicable exclusion amount ($2,000,000 for 2007).
Tax tips new business owners
Here are six tax tips the IRS wants new business owners to know:
Related posts
Posted in EIN | 
Tags: federal, irs, irs gov ein number, irs.gov ein application, startup, tax, taxes