IRC Section 6166 Revisited

Closely held businesses comprise a substantial percentage of the U.S. economy. One study estimated that only 30 percent of closely held businesses survive the first generation, 22 percent survive the second and only 3 percent survive beyond the third.¹ Considering the economic importance of maintaining family businesses, Congress enacted Internal Revenue Code Section 6166 in 1958 to help prevent the forced sale of a closely held business to pay estate taxes. Let’s focus on some of