This article originally appeared in the May 2025 issue of The Tax Adviser.
Professionals are currently advising clients amid the so–called “great wealth transfer,” new IRS campaigns focused on high–income/high–wealth taxpayers, and the approaching sunset of favorable provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, P.L. 115–97. Despite the challenges and uncertainty in today’s wealth–transfer planning environment, planners continue to assist growing numbers of clients in completing gifts and other estate planning transactions. As many of these transactions will be reported on gift tax returns — and in recognition of the Tax Court decision in Schlapfer, T.C. Memo. 2023–65 — now is an ideal time to review the adequate–disclosure rules for gift tax returns.
Reporting gifts on Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation–Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, requires planning and deliberate consideration of the content of descriptions, elections, and disclosures. In addition to gifts, taxpayers often have advantageous opportunities to voluntarily report various nongift transactions on gift tax returns. Practitioners working with clients to complete planning and related tax returns should ensure the adequate disclosure of requisite information to avoid adverse transfer tax outcomes that may otherwise occur years after a transaction took place.
BDO’s Bryan W. Bussert provides details in the full article in The Tax Adviser.