While the universe has been riveted in more recent weeks by the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) and its on-again-off-again romance within the 5th Circuit (and soon, SCOTUS) the NJ Division of Tax snuck in an early surprise into the estate world’s stocking: a brand NEW 2024 Form IT-R (which is the technical name for the NJ Inheritance Tax Return).
You read that right…after many years of wonder [and maybe some agony] experienced by lawyers, accountants, and ordinary citizens maneuvering through the land of estate administration and taxes, the New Jersey Division of Tax has updated the Resident NJ Inheritance Tax Return. [insert collective sigh of contentment]
New Jersey has had an inheritance tax since 1892, and while at times it’s felt like we’ve been using the same form since then, the Division quietly updated its website on December 4, 2024 with the new NJ Inheritance Tax form and other goodies, just without all the bells and whistles or fanfare that most might feel the long-awaited changes might have deserved.
I took some time to look over what’s new and, candidly, it’s hard to pinpoint what the best part is. Here’s a snapshot of some of my favorites:
- Page 1 of the return properly located at Page 1 of the PDF;
- A fillable PDF Form (previously this was not a Fill-in form);
- ‘If this, then that’ questions, similar to the updated L-8 form;
- Check Boxes to show if the return is amended, if additional pages are included, if stock listed is
for a NJ corporation (to provide guidance on whether a waiver should issue or not); and - Vastly more detailed and instructive Schedules that take the guesswork out of what to include
and how to include it.
Maybe not foolproof but trust me, you’ll be wow’d. To see the NEW IT-R for yourself: https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/other_forms/inheritance/itrbk.pdf
And, in addition to the new-and-improved NJ Inheritance Tax Return, the Division has also included a few exciting accessories as well:
- Separate PDF of instructions
- Additional pages of blank Schedules
- Worksheet to calculate Class C & D tax (be still my heart!)
To see it and believe, click here https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/prntinh.shtml
Of course, we still have to make the actual calculations ourselves, but we’ll just have to keep that on our wish list for the next round of revisions to the NJ Inheritance Tax Return.
As always, if you have any questions regarding estate administration, probate, the estate tax, or inheritance tax issues, please reach out to Elizabeth C. Ketterson, Esq. at The Pollock Firm LLC, who is the head of our Estate Administration Department.
Written by Elizabeth C. Ketterson, Esq.
