Substitute Senate Bill 108, recently passed by the Ohio General Assembly provides for changes to the filing requirements for all estate tax returns to be filed in Ohio. These changes are to be phased in over two years beginning January 1, 2001 and will, by 2002, effectively eliminate the need for returns to be filed in approximately 78% of all estates in Ohio. To coincide with these statutory changes, the tax commissioner has directed that specific compliance requirements currently in place be reviewed and updated. Under the statutory authority found in Sections 5731.21(A)(1)(a) and 5731.39(G)(1) ORC, the tax commissioner is implementing the following changes.

Safe Deposit Box Inventory

The tax commissioner will no longer require the inventory of a safe deposit box upon the death of the owner, co-owner or any other person having access to the box. This includes self-storage boxes currently in use by several financial institutions or any other receptacle that may be deemed a “safe deposit box” under any definition or policy manual. This policy change applies to both resident and non-resident decedents of the State of Ohio.

Tax Release Requirements

Due to the increased threshold for filing, Applications for Consent to Transfer Property of a Resident or Non-Resident Decedent will no longer be required for assets equal to $25,000 or less per account.

The tax commissioner has authorized an automatic, six-month extension of time to file the Ohio estate tax return. This permits estates with a date of death on or after January 1, 2000 to have a total of 15 months to file the return. This policy change will be implemented subject to the following provisions:

Any additional six-month extensions must be requested in writing on the E.T. Form 24 prior to the expiration of the 16-month deadline. This can be done via facsimile, hand-delivery, or mailed directly to the Estate Tax Division.

Interest on any estate tax due will calculated from nine months from date of death regardless if the estate utilizes the automatic or additional extensions.

Elections for Qualified Farm Use (CAUV) and Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) will be accepted up to 15 months after the date of death. Any returns not filed prior to that deadline that do not have an additional, approved extension of time to file will not qualify for those elections.

As these are significant changes in policy, we have prepared and attached a Question and Answer handout, with a short cover sheet. Please make copies and have these available to the local practitioners, taxpayers and financial institutions. The Q and A’s may be duplicated and used as verification of these new policies for any purpose and given to anyone who had questions.

We thank you for you continued cooperation in all estate tax matters and hope that these changes will help to increase efficiency and relieve any burdens that may be presented by the current procedure. If you have any questions, please call the Estate Tax Division at 1-614-895-5710 or toll free at 1-800-977-7711.