We have to file an IRS form 8939 with respect to my mother's estate (she died in 2010), and the accountant in charge of the estate is quoting us a price of $700 to prepare and file this form. I looked briefly at the form itself and it doesnt look that complicated, but of course I'm not sure how much work goes into the behind the scenes preparation of the form. Does $700 sound reasonable? Too high? Low?
Thanks in advance
Maybe yes... and... maybe no. It depends on two factors:
For those decedents who died in 2010 and probably had an estate that was greater than $5M and were subject to hefty estate taxes, the election to use the old estate tax rules (No tax but a modified carryover basis) requires that all the property be identified as to when purchased and its cost basis. One also has to know about inherited property, gifted property and carryover capital losses. Finally, you need to know the current FMV. The property will pass to the beneficiaries at the lesser of cost basis or FMV. Then one must determine which property should be stepped up in basis (the so called modified carryover basis) and which property should not get a step-up, using the $1.3M allowed for that purpose. (A surviving spouse gets another $3M of step up.)
So... it could take quite an amount of time to prepare and file that form.
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