Fairmark.com

Estate tax returns are due nine months after the death of the decedent. That means today is the first deadline to fall under the estate tax rules that took effect as of 2011. Estates can obtain an automatic six-month extension by filing Form 4768 (PDF). The deadline is notable because the new rules for the first time permit an election to transfer the unused portion of the decedent’s exclusion amount ($5 million for 2012) to the decedent’s spouse. The IRS says the election can only be made by filing an estate tax return, even if the return is not otherwise required to be filed.