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 5^th Circuit (and soon, SCOTUS) the NJ Division of Tax snuck in an early surprise into the estate world’s stocking: a brand NEW 2024 NJ Inheritance Tax Return Form IT-R.

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]

NJ has had an inheritance tax since 1892, and while at times it’s felt like we’ve been using the same NJ Inheritance Tax Return IT-R since then, the Division quietly updated its website on December 4, 2024 with the new 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:

1. 14 [versus 26] fill-in-only pages, with Page 1 of the return properly located at Page 1 of the PDF
2. ‘If this, then that’ questions, similar to the previously updated L-8 form;
3. 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 tax waiver should issue or not)
4. 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 NJ Inheritance Tax Return IT-R for yourself: 

https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/other_forms/inheritance/itrbk.pdf

And, as added bonuses, the Division has also included a few exciting accessories to go with it:

• 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 wishlist for the next round of revisions.