MONTGOMERY COUNTY ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL OF PA

This 1-hour presentation delivered by IRS Senior Stakeholder Liaison Richard Furlong, Jr. will provide an overview of selected IRS topics and issues impacting decedent estates and their tax advisors, along with selected provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.  Topics will include:

1. Selected Provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act  (P.L. 119- 21) impacting closely held businesses, estates and their advisors
2. IRS responsibilities of the surviving spouse, executor, estate administrator or other legal representative of a deceased person and their estate
3. Final Returns of Decedents: claiming refunds by non-spouse executor
4. Importance of Form 56 (“Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship”)
5. IRS Digital Accounts for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals
6. Obtaining Transcripts in Lieu of Estate Closing Letters
7. IRS.GOV resources for Estate and Gift practitioners

Richard's Bio:

Mr. Furlong is a Senior Stakeholder Liaison in the Stakeholder Liaison office of the Internal Revenue Service Communications & Liaison Division. Stakeholder Liaison serves as the primary IRS outreach and liaison office to tax practitioner and industry organizations throughout the country.

Each year, Mr. Furlong represents IRS at both face-to-face seminars and online webinars where he discusses IRS policies and procedures, tax law updates, tax professional data security, and emerging areas of tax administration. He coordinates the Pennsylvania Practitioner Liaison Meetings where PA practitioner organizations meet with IRS to discuss latest developments in IRS policies, procedures, and practices and to solicit feedback from the practitioners. Annually, he provides IRS updates on topics including latest tax law changes, tax professional data security, and IRS Tax Pro Accounts. In 2018 he served on a detail assignment to the IRS C& L Technical Communications Branch where he in the development and implementation of the IRS communications and outreach strategy for various provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). In 2023 he was a member of the C & L “Clean Energy Credits” team developing outreach products and strategy for these credits. In 2026, Mr. Furlong in on the C & L team delivering outreach on various provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Mr. Furlong is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.