IRS Issues Corrected Instructions for 2010 Gift Tax Return

The IRS published Form 709 on March 18, and issued instructions on March 31. These reflect law, administrative and indexing changes for gifts made in 2010, including those made by the 2010 Tax Relief Act.

Those who downloaded instructions for Form 709 on or before March 29 should review the agency’s revised instructions, issued May 13. They incorporate these changes:

• Eliminate a bullet point and its contents on page 1, under What's New, referring to a provision that was repealed by the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. 
• Revise text, tables and worksheets on pages 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 to eliminate an error that could lead to erroneous results.
• Change the second sentence of the third paragraph on page 15, under Disclosure, Privacy Act, and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, to read:

“However, section 6103 allows or requires the Internal Revenue Service to disclose or give such information shown on your Form 709 to the Department of Justice to enforce the tax laws, both civil and criminal, and to cities, states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. commonwealths or possessions for use in administering their tax laws.”