Tax Planning; Tax Minimization
The IRS announced that for tax years beginning before January 1, 2008, nongrantor trusts and estates will not be required to unbundle their fiduciary fees to determine what portion is subject to the Sec. 67(a) 2% threshold for itemized deductions.
The Supreme Court held that deductible investment fees incurred by a trust or estate are subject to the 2% miscellaneous deduction floor unless they are fees of a type that individuals would not commonly or customarily incur.
The Supreme Court held that investment advisory fees are generally subject to the 2% floor but refused to go as far as the Second Circuit in saying that the exclusivity test requires that the fees could not have been incurred by an individual.
This item discusses how the 2% floor affects a trust’s regular tax and alternative minimum tax (AMT), the effect of the recent Supreme Court decision in Knight on the continuing controversy, and the efficacy of the proposed regulations in the wake of the Knight decision.
Editor: Kevin F. Reilly, J.D., CPA In July, the IRS issued proposed regulations (REG128224-06) providing guidance on whether costs incurred by estates or nongrantor trusts are subject to the 2% floor for miscellaneous itemized deductions. The new rules intend to clarify the deductibility of advisory fees paid by estates and
Under Sec. 67(a), miscellaneous itemized deductions are allowed only to the extent that they exceed 2% of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI). The AGI of an estate or trust is computed in the same manner as for an individual for these purposes, except that, under Sec. 67(e)(1), administrative costs
This article reviews how depreciation from a partnership is allocated between a trust and its beneficiaries and highlights the potential trap the allocation can cause when the depreciation deduction flows through a partnership.
On March 23, 2007, the Rudkin Testamentary Trust petitioned the Supreme Court to resolve the split in the circuits over whether Sec. 67(e) allows estates and trusts to fully deduct investment management fees. (The American Bankers Association will also file an amicus brief.) The Second Circuit created a three-way split
This article examines how the Second Circuit reached its decision and how trustees and practitioners should respond to this questionable ruling.
