Submitted By: Art
Answered: September 10, 2013 8:30 am

I inherited my mom’s IRA and some other property. An attorney prepared her estate tax return, but no taxes were due. Can I deduct the attorney’s fees?

Unfortunately, no. The fees were payable by the estate and deductible only by the estate. If there had been a federal estate tax, you would have been entitled to a write-off for the federal estate tax with respect to the IRA. This is because the IRA is income in respect of a decedent (income earned by the person before death that is taxed to someone else after the person’s death).  However, since there was no estate tax, you don’t get any deduction.

advertisement
Tax Glossary

Foreign tax credit

A credit for income taxes paid to a foreign country or U.S. possession. 401(k) plan. A deferred pay plan, authorized by Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, under which a percentage of an employee’s salary is withheld and placed in a savings account or the company’s profit-sharing plan. Income accumulates on the deferred amount until withdrawn by the employee at age 59?

More terms