May I deduct under "tax preparation fee" the fee I paid to have a form 706 prepared?

[Dockothebay]

It took a while but I finally filed the Form 706 after my spouse died.  May I include the fee I paid for this in the "tax preparation fee" section of TT as a possible deduction?  Note I did not pay a fee to prepare annual tax 1040/income tax.  Thank you.  

[xmasbaby0]

No.  Fees to prepare tax forms are not deductible unless you have a business and are preparing a return for the business.

[Dockothebay]

Thanks for the reply.  TT says this in the Help section: "Lots of people pay to have their taxes done, and in some cases, tax preparation fees are deductible."... referring to individuals, not businesses.  Any ideas?

[xmasbaby0]

Before the tax laws changed for 2018 and beyond, tax preparation fees could be used as miscellaneous deductions subject to the 2% of AGI threshold.  That law changed.   You cannot deduct fees for preparing your personal income tax return.    Independent contractors and business owners can still deduct tax prep fees on their Schedule C as a business expense.

[dmertz]

A fee paid to prepare Form 706 would be an expense of your husband's estate.  You can obtain reimbursement from your husband's estate and the estate can take the deduction for this expense on Form 1041 if Form 1041 if required to be filed.