Draft Form 706 Released–Includes “Check the Box” Feature to Opt Out of Portability

From Bloomberg News:

IRS releases a draft version of the 2012 Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, that for the first time includes a check-the-box feature for executors to opt out of electing portability of a spouse’s unused gift and estate tax exclusion amount. The draft includes a portability election section (Part 6) that reminds estate executors that to elect portability, they must simply complete and timely file the Form 706. If they are opting out, they must check a box saying the decedents do not want to pass on their unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount to their surviving spouses.