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You're welcome! I don't leave home without them.

If an asset is sold within 6-9 months after the date of death, the IRS will use the selling price as FMV because it's obviously what a "willing buyer" was willing to pay. If an estate return 706 was filed (unlikely), the valuations on that return must be used. The problem with Probate filings is the inherent conflict of interest--the attorney will undervalue assets to lessen Probate fees, while heirs need a higher valuation to minimize cap gains when they sell. I have a client who inherited a home on the ocean in the Hamptons that shows a FMV of less than $300k in the court filings. I think the patch of grass between the walk and mailbox is worth more than that. She did buy out the other beneficiary for $1.8m, so at least she'll have some basis to show.

Right, I looked at that too. No-charge PTINs are for new applications and renewals for the 2017 season according to the IRS site. Who hasn't renewed for 2017 yet?! Personally I think that the PTIN should be as it was originally intended, to be as a replacement for our SSNs so that those aren't shown on the returns we prepare. I also think that regulating tax preparers without other credentials (those without JD, EA or CPA) should be handled at the state level as part of states' professional licensing and regulation.

From Accounting Today this article is quoted below in its entirety and says that IRS has reopened the PTIN system, issuing and renewing for the 2017 season at no charge, and is working with the DOJ on how to proceed.

I got just the tail end of a voicemail recording at home that said I was being sued by "the state" for failure to pay taxes. I always talk with my clients about the IRS calls, and by now most of them know these are frauds. Guess the scammers are trying a new tactic. Good thing they're too dumb to at least identify what state is suing me.

@Abby Normal thanks for the info on startup monitor and autoruns; I am going to look at both of them (tomorrow; today's already full).

NCPE offers a good 2 day seminar on corporations and partnerships, but the farthest west they go is Las Vegas and Denver. Does your local community college (or California equivalent) offer classes on taxation as part of the accounting curriculum? Our local community college offers Principles of Taxation I which primarily covers individuals and Principles of Taxation II which gets into corporations and partnerships.

Always great if it can be done. If it wasn't done at the time, "the time" was several years ago, and the property was not sold, then it gets very messy and alternative measures may be needed. And some clients won't spring for it as a separate item; little knowing they spend nearly that much to *us* for the research we have to do to come up with something reasonable that we can defend using.

get the appraisal, $300 well spent money.

I just got this email (no links). And no, I don't think I'll be contacting them. And just as a reminder to y'all, I am not a "sir". Sir, We are a construction machinery manufacturing company, with several design patents. Shenzhen Machinery Limited sales service network covers all around the world and our products are mainly sold to such regions as Japan, Mainland China, Thailand, Taiwan, USA, and Canada. We have many customers spread all over in the USA, and we think it will be more beneficial for us to establish our corporate presence there. This is why we are reaching out to you. We require your help with establishing our "branch" in the USA. We will like you to represent our interests, by acting as our Financial Administrator over there in the USA. We feel that as a knowledgeable professional, you have actionable professional insights that can bring our business to the next level in the USA, as we Plan to minimize investment expenses and tax. We wait to hear from you with respect to moving this subject matter forward. We thank you for your anticipated co-operation. Best Regards, Ms. Shan Kiyoko Public Affairs Director Shenzhen Machinery Limited 2-gokan 21-4, Kita Ueno 2-chome, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0014, Japan Tel: 81-3-45400923 Fax: 81-3-45400924

Short of getting a formal appraisal, you can get real estate agents to make an informal appraisal. They use nearly the same methods as alicensed appraisers and know the local market better. The will do it for free in the hope of getting a listing. Zillow.com provides estimates, but I have found that they are often unreliable. There are a lot of things that appraisals might not detect, such as, cracked foundations, mold, dry rot, termites, violations of building codes, etc., so any appraisal you get could be overestimating the FMV.

That's a joke anyway. It gets ignored by ALL the robo-callers, and no one enforces it. So why do we even have it?

I prefer to have some basis for the FMV at date of death. If it was real estate, I have used tax assessment as long as I know that the locality assesses at 100% of FMV. In some cases, if an inventory was filed listing the asset and the FMV that can be used. For stocks, the date of death value is normally obtainable. If it is something where the FMV is not readily available, or at least a close approximation, then I would say some kind of evaluation or appraisal would be in order.