General information about Form 706 in ProSeries Professional

This article will assist you with understanding general information about Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, in ProSeries Professional.

Before you start:

ProSeries doesn't support state estate tax returns.

Estate Information Worksheet

Complete this worksheet before you work on other forms, schedules, or worksheets. Decedent information entered on the Information Worksheet transfers to other forms, schedules and worksheets.

Transferring information from Form 709

If you prepared Form 709 for the decedent, you may save time by transferring the name, address, and gift history information from the Form 709 Gift Tax Return.

To do so, the Form 709 Gift data file must be carried forward to the current tax year. The current year Form 706 will import from the current-year Form 709:

1. Go to the HomeBase.
2. From the File menu, select Transfer.
3. Select Transfer Clients.
4. Locate the Form 709 data file that you want to transfer in the window on the right of the screen, highlight it, and select the Transfer button to initiate the transfer.
   • A new data file with a similar name will then show in HomeBase.

Transferring information from last year's Form 706

If you prepared a Form 706 using last year's ProSeries for a decedent, you may save time by transferring all entered information from the prior-year Form 706 data file to this year's program:

1. Go to the HomeBase.
2. From the File menu, select Transfer.
3. Select Transfer Clients.
4. Under Select the type of files to transfer, select the prior-year Form 706 to current-year Form 706.
5. Locate the Form 709 data file that you want to transfer in the window on the right of the screen, highlight it, and select the Transfer button to initiate the transfer.
   • A new data file with a similar name will then show in HomeBase.

Form 8971 and Schedule A(s)

Check this box if the estate is required to file Form 8971. Marking this box will activate the following forms:

• Beneficiary Worksheet, which collects the address and other information for each beneficiary.
• Form 8971 Worksheet, which lists all properties distributed from the estate on Schedule A through I and collects each beneficiary's allocation of the distributed properties for reporting on Schedule A.
• Form 8971 and Schedule A.

Additional important information:

• Due to program limitations, it's recommended that you complete Form 706 in full, with all estate properties entered into the program, before activating Form 8971 and Schedule A and completing all related worksheets.
• An executor or other person(s) required to file Form 706 is required to report the final estate tax value of property distributed or to be distributed from the estate on returns filed after July 31, 2015. Form 8971, and all copies of Schedule A, is filed to report the estate values to the IRS. Schedule A is provided to each beneficiary receiving property from the estate.
• The Form 8971 filing requirement doesn't apply to an executor of an estate who isn't required to file an estate tax return. This is because the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts is less than the basic exclusion amount, but files for the sole purpose of making an allocation or election regarding the generation-skipping transfer tax.