Rule2026-19666
Estate Tax Closing Letter User Fee Update
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 25, 2026
Effective
October 26, 2026
Issuing agencies
Treasury DepartmentInternal Revenue Service
Abstract
This document contains final regulations relating to the imposition of a user fee on authorized persons requesting the issuance of IRS Letter 627, also referred to as an estate tax closing letter. The final regulations, which adopt without change the text of the proposed regulations, increase the amount of the user fee imposed on a request for the issuance of an estate tax closing letter from $56 to $76. The Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 authorizes the charging of user fees. The final regulations affect persons who request an estate tax closing letter.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 185 (Friday, September 25, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 185 (Friday, September 25, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60801-60803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19666]
[[Page 60801]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
26 CFR Part 300
[TD 10055]
RIN 1545-BS10
Estate Tax Closing Letter User Fee Update
AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This document contains final regulations relating to the
imposition of a user fee on authorized persons requesting the issuance
of IRS Letter 627, also referred to as an estate tax closing letter.
The final regulations, which adopt without change the text of the
proposed regulations, increase the amount of the user fee imposed on a
request for the issuance of an estate tax closing letter from $56 to
$76. The Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 authorizes the
charging of user fees. The final regulations affect persons who request
an estate tax closing letter.
DATES:
Effective date: These regulations are effective on October 26,
2026.
Applicability date: For date of applicability, see Sec. 300.12(d).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Concerning the final regulations, Juli
Ro Kim at (202) 317-6859; concerning cost methodology, CFO Cost and
User Fees at (202) 317-6400 (not toll-free numbers).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority
This document contains amendments to 26 CFR part 300 regarding user
fees for authorized persons who request the issuance of an estate tax
closing letter (IRS Letter 627).
The Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 (IOAA) (31
U.S.C. 9701) authorizes each agency to prescribe regulations that
establish user fees for services provided by the agency. The IOAA
provides that regulations implementing user fees are subject to
policies prescribed by the President; these policies are set forth in
the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-25, 58 FR 38142 (July
15, 1993) (OMB Circular A-25).
The IOAA states that the services provided by an agency should be
self-sustaining to the extent possible. Under OMB Circular A-25,
agencies that provide services that confer special benefits on
identifiable recipients beyond those accruing to the general public
must identify those services, determine whether user fees should be
assessed for those services, and, if so, establish user fees that
recover the full cost of providing those services, unless an exception
to the full cost requirement is granted. As required by the IOAA and
OMB Circular A-25, agencies are to review user fees biennially and
update them as necessary to reflect changes in the cost of providing
the underlying services.
Background
On June 2, 2026, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury
Department) and the IRS published in the Federal Register (91 FR 32909)
a notice of proposed rulemaking (proposed regulations) (REG-103193-26)
proposing amendments to regulations under 26 CFR part 300 relating to
the imposition of a user fee on authorized persons requesting the
issuance of an estate tax closing letter. The proposed regulations
proposed an increase of the user fee imposed on a request for the
issuance of an estate tax closing letter from $56 to $76.
The preamble to the proposed regulations contains a detailed
explanation of the legal background and user fee calculations
supporting the amendment to these regulations. The Treasury Department
and the IRS received one written public comment in response to the
proposed regulations. The comment is available at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or upon request. No public hearing on the proposed
regulations was requested and accordingly no public hearing was held.
After careful consideration of the comment received, the Treasury
Department and the IRS adopt the text of the proposed regulations
without change.
Summary of Comments
The single comment received addressed three central points.
The first point focused on the transparency of the specific cost
model used to calculate the cost of providing a closing letter,
including the derivation of the various assumptions, staff-hour
estimates, and rates to which the cost model was applied. The comment
requested that the IRS publicly release the 2025 Cost Model or
supporting memorandum to evaluate how assumptions were derived,
validated, and tested. Additionally, the comment requested that the IRS
not move forward with these final regulations before the IRS provides
this additional data and discloses it to the public.
The IOAA authorizes Federal government agencies to promulgate
regulations establishing the charge for services provided by the
agency. OMB Circular A-25 states that, when a service offered by a
Federal agency provides special benefits to identifiable recipients
beyond those accruing to the general public, the agency should
establish a user fee to recover the full cost of providing the service.
Section 6(d) of the OMB Circular A-25 provides specific directives to
determine the full cost of the government service. Each agency is
responsible for reviewing the user charges for agency programs
biennially to assure that existing charges are adjusted to reflect
unanticipated changes in costs. See OMB Circular A-25 section 8(e).
As explained in the preamble to the proposed regulations, the IRS's
cost methodology used in calculating the full cost of administering the
estate tax closing letter program is in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles and the Statement of Federal Financial
Accounting Standards (SFFAS) No. 4: Managerial Cost Accounting
Standards and Concepts found in the Federal Accounting Standards
Advisory Board Handbook of Federal Accounting Standards and Other
Pronouncements, as amended. As the preamble to the proposed regulations
states, the user fee calculation uses data from fiscal years 2023
through 2024 to determine the direct and indirect costs associated with
the estate tax closing letter program. In accordance with the IOAA and
OMB Circular A-25, the IRS conducted a biennial review of the estate
tax closing letter program computing the full cost of issuing estate
tax closing letters to authorized persons. The proposed regulations
provide a detailed analysis of the full cost of providing the service
of issuing estate tax closing letters to authorized persons based on
operational activities of the IRS and the unit in charge of issuing
estate tax closing letters. As the proposed regulations describe in
detail, the increased user fee reflects the change in the IRS costs of
administering the program as a result of changes in operational
factors. The IRS has determined that the full cost to the IRS of
overseeing the estate tax closing letter program is $76 per request. In
accordance with the OMB Circular A-25, these final regulations increase
the fee to bring it in line with actual costs based upon a recent
review of the estate tax closing letter program. The IRS is in
compliance with OMB Circular A-25 in its methodology for computation of
the actual cost and will follow the directive providing for a biennial
reevaluation of the fees.
[[Page 60802]]
Regarding the suggestion of publication of and public comment on
the cost model and data, the cost model and data will not be part of
the final regulations when issued. The data that was required to be
included for public review and comment was included in the preamble to
the proposed regulations.
The second central point raised by the comment concerned the cost
of the rulemaking process. Specifically, the comment inquired whether
or not the cost of the rulemaking process is accounted for in the 2025
Cost Model and whether ``another administratively efficient approach
would better serve full-cost recovery without repeatedly incurring
rulemaking costs.''
OMB Circular A-25 Section 7(a) provides that ``user charges will be
instituted through the promulgation of regulations.'' The IRS
implemented the estate tax closing letter user fee in 2021 in TD 9957
(86 FR 53539), based on a 2019 Cost Model, in accordance with the OMB
Circular A-25 requiring full cost recovery to provide a government
service unless an exception is granted. OMB Circular A-25 requires the
IRS to review the user fees it charges for special services in a
biennial review to ensure that the fees are adjusted for cost. As
required, the IRS continued to review the cost of the estate tax
closing letter program and issued adjustments to the fee by regulation
in TD 10031 (90 FR 21410) and TD 10038 (90 FR 55041).
As related to these proposed regulations, the IRS completed a 2025
Cost Model to satisfy the agency's responsibility to review the user
charges for the estate tax closing letter program. The IRS
organizational unit responsible for the implementation and operation of
the estate tax closing letter is the IRS Small Business/Self Employed
(Examination). Unlike other user fee programs, such as the offer in
compromise program, the Office of Chief Counsel does not perform any
duties or specific tasks to provide the estate tax closing letter,
which is the service for which the user fee is incurred. The service of
providing an estate tax closing letter is solely performed by IRS
employees; therefore, as explained in the OMB Circular A-25, the full
cost of the service is computed by cost factors including the IRS
employees' direct and indirect personnel hours.
OMB Circular A-25 does not require the IRS to account for and
describe activities unrelated to providing estate tax closing letters
and administering the estate tax closing letter program that are not
included in the costs recovered in the estate tax closing letter user
fee. The costs associated with issuing the regulations required by the
IOAA and OMB Circular A-25 to implement changes to the user fee are not
such expenses and thus are not to be taken into account in calculating
the cost. The IRS has accounted for all activities properly included in
the estate tax closing letter user fee. As explained in detail in the
proposed regulations, the estate tax closing letter user fee is
consistent with these requirements.
The third point raised by the comment requested clarification of
the Regulatory Flexibility Act as discussed in the Special Analyses
section of the preamble. The comment requested that the IRS explain
whether small professional fiduciaries, estate administration firms,
law firms, accountants, or other small entities commonly request or
absorb the fee in practice, and whether such burden is direct,
indirect, or merely passed through to estates.
The final regulations increase the amount of the user fee to obtain
an estate tax closing letter, which is imposed on requests made by
decedents' estates. As discussed in the Special Analyses section of
this preamble, generally, decedent's estates are not ``small entities''
for purpose of the Regulatory Flexibility Act under 5 U.S.C. 601(6).
The Treasury Department and the IRS do not expect any of the costs to
obtain an estate tax closing letter to be borne by small professional
fiduciaries or other small entities. Moreover, the $76 user fee is not
substantial enough to have a significant economic impact on any
entities that could be affected by establishing such a fee.
Accordingly, the Treasury Department and the IRS conclude that the rule
is not expected to have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities, and a regulatory flexibility analysis is not
required.
After consideration of the comment, these final regulations adopt
the text of the proposed regulations without change.
Special Analyses
I. Regulatory Planning and Review
The OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Analysis has
determined that these regulations are not subject to review under
section 6(b) of Executive Order 12866.
II. Regulatory Flexibility Act
Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 6), it
is hereby certified that these final regulations will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
These regulations, which amend the amount of a fee to obtain a
particular service, affect decedents' estates, which generally are not
small entities as defined under 5 U.S.C. 601(6). Thus, these
regulations have no economic impact on small entities. In addition, the
final regulations will establish a $76 fee, which is not substantial
enough to have a significant economic impact on any entities that could
be affected by establishing such a fee. Accordingly, the Secretary
certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities.
III. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 requires
that agencies assess anticipated costs and benefits and take certain
other actions before issuing a final rule that includes any Federal
mandate that may result in expenditures in any one year by a State,
local, or Tribal government, in the aggregate, or by the private
sector, of $100 million in 1995 dollars, updated annually for
inflation. These final regulations do not include any Federal mandate
that may result in expenditures by State, local, or Tribal governments,
or by the private sector in excess of that threshold.
IV. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
Executive Order 13132 (Federalism) prohibits an agency from
publishing any rule that has federalism implications if the rule either
imposes substantial, direct compliance costs on State and local
governments, and is not required by statute, or preempts State law,
unless the agency meets the consultation and funding requirements of
section 6 of the Executive order. These final regulations do not have
federalism implications and do not impose substantial direct compliance
costs on State and local governments or preempt State law within the
meaning of the Executive order.
V. Submission to Small Business Administration
Pursuant to section 7805(f) of the Internal Revenue Code, the
notice of proposed rulemaking that preceded these final regulations was
submitted to the Chief Counsel for the Office of Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration for comment on its impact on small business. No
comments were received on the proposed regulations.
[[Page 60803]]
VI. Congressional Review Act
Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.),
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs designated this rule
as not a major rule, as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Drafting Information
The principal author of these regulations is Juli Ro Kim of the
Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (Passthroughs, Trusts, and
Estates). Other personnel from the Treasury Department and the IRS
participated in the development of the regulations.
List of Subjects in 26 CFR Part 300
Estate taxes, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Adoption of Amendments to the Regulations
Accordingly, 26 CFR part 300 is amended as follows:
PART 300--USER FEES
0
Paragraph 1.The authority citation for part 300 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 31 U.S.C. 9701.
0
Par. 2.Section 300.12 is amended by revising paragraphs (b) and (d) to
read as follows:
Sec. 300.12 Fee for estate tax closing letter.
* * * * *
(b) Fee. The fee for issuing an estate tax closing letter is $76.
* * * * *
(d) Applicability date. This section applies to requests for estate
tax closing letters received by the IRS after October 26, 2026.
Frank J. Bisignano,
Chief Executive Officer.
Approved: September 2, 2026.
Kevin M. Salinger,
Acting Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (Tax Policy).
[FR Doc. 2026-19666 Filed 9-24-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4831-GV-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 25, 2026.
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