| Date: | 02/10/1988 |
|---|---|
| Organization: | Massachusetts Department of Revenue |
| Referenced Sources: | Massachusetts General Laws |
Tax Administration/Personal Income Tax
This Technical Information Release outlines the procedures to be followed and the information to be included by a fiduciary filing a Form 2S with the Department of Revenue. Form 2S, also known as an insert, is a form that was developed by the practitioner community as an alternative to the Department's official Form 2, Fiduciary Income Tax Return. Please note that the Department will accept a Form 2S in place of Form 2 only for tax years ending on or before December 31, 1987. For all later tax years, the Department will accept only a Form 2.
A Form 2S filed with the Department must contain all the information described in this Technical Information Release. The Department will return, subject to all applicable penalties, all forms that fail to meet the requirements described below.
Who May File Form 2S
A fiduciary of any trust or estate with a twelve month taxable year may file a Form 2S with the Department. Also, a fiduciary of a trust that is required to adopt a calendar year under Section 1403 of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 -- I.R.C. § 645 (1986) -- may file a Form 2S. All other fiduciaries must file Form 2.
Where To File Form 2S
Form 2S, together with payment in full, is due on or before April 15, 1988. Fiduciaries must mail Form 2S to the following address:
Massachusetts Department of Revenue
P.O. Box 7018, Boston, MA 02204
Fiduciaries of grantor type trusts must mail Form 2S to P. O. Box 7017. All checks or money orders must be made payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
PROCEDURES
1. Filing Form 2S
(a) The Department encourages but does not require that fiduciaries file Form 2S in blocks of fifty. Each Form 2S included in a block of returns must be the same kind of return, namely:
1). tax due;
2). no tax due;
3). tax refund due; or
4). tax determined.
For example, Fiduciary A administers fifty individual trusts. Each trust has a twelve month taxable year. Forty-three of the trusts are entitled to a tax refund; the other seven trusts have no tax due. Fiduciary A may file Form 2S in blocks of forty-three (tax refund due) and of seven (no tax due).
(b) The fiduciary must attach a Form 2 on the top of the block of Form 2S. The Form 2 must indicate the following:
1. the total tax due for all returns in the block;
2. the amount of estimated tax payments made for all returns in the block; and
3. the amount of tax payment due or the amount to be refunded for all returns in the block.
For example, Fiduciary B files Form 2S for fifty individual trusts entitled to a tax refund. Fiduciary B must attach a Form 2 to the block of fifty Form 2S. The Form 2 must indicate the total amount of refund due the fifty trusts.
(c) The fiduciary or any other authorized person must sign each Form 2S. The fiduciary or authorized person must sign beneath a jurat which states:
"This return is true and complete to the best of my knowledge and signed under the penalties of perjury."
(d) The fiduciary must total and consolidate all subaccounts on the first Form 2S for that account.
Information Required
Form 2S is a return. It must contain all the information required in a Form 2 return. Accordingly, a Form 2S must contain the following information:
1. a title heading stating, "Form 2S, Massachusetts Fiduciary Income Tax Return;"
2. the name and address of the fiduciary;
3. the tax year for which the return is being made;
4. the taxpayer identification number;
5. the decedent's date of death, where applicable;
6. the names and social security numbers of beneficiaries, and their states of legal domicile;
7. the value of the percentage of total trust or estate income to which each beneficiary is entitled under the instrument, and the amount of such share which is taxable to the trust or estate;
8. the names and social security numbers for all trust remaindermen, and their states of legal domicile;
9. the total amount of refund or balance due at the time of filing, which is determined by subtracting the estimated payments from the total amount of tax due; and
10. a schedule area for computing the three classes of taxable income. The three classes are as follows:
(a) dividend and interest income (Part A - 10%);
(b) sales and exchanges income (Part A - 10%);
(c) all Massachusetts source income and Massachusetts bank interest income (Part B - 5%).
Form 2 Line Equivalents
For tax year 1987 fiduciaries must adapt existing Form 2S line references to Form 2 line references. Thus the fiduciary must renumber and rewrite the title headings so that Form 2S line references correspond exactly to the "Computation of Tax" box in Form 2. The Department of Revenue will not accept a Form 2S in which the line equivalents do not match.
The corresponding Form 2S and Form 2 line equivalents are as follows:
Form 2S Official (1987) Form 2
Item Item
Heading 1. Heading
1. Net Taxable 5% Income 49. Taxable 5% Income
2. Tax on 5% Income 50. Tax From Table
3. Net Taxable Dividends and 51. Taxable 10% Income 10% Interest and
4. Net Taxable Capital Gain and
5. Net Taxable 10% Income
__________________________________________________________________
6. Tax on 10% Income 52. Tax From Table
______________________________________________________________
9. Tax Due for the Year 53. Total Tax
__________________________________________________________________
10. Massachusetts Estimated Tax 54. 1987 Mass. Estimated Payments Tax Payments-Prior Year's Tax
11. Credit for Taxes Paid by Common 55. Other Credits Trust Funds None 56. Payments Made With Extensions
12. Total Credits 57. Total Credits and Payment
14. Amount Overpaid 58. Overpayment
16. Overpayment to Estimated Tax 59. Overpayment to 1988 Estimated Tax
__________________________________________________________________
15. Refunded to You 60. Amount of Refund To You
13. Balance Due and 61. Balance Due
17. Interest, Penalty and Total Tax
_____________________________
Stephen W. Kidder
Commissioner of Revenue
February 10, 1988
TIR 88-1