ARTICLE 7. Uniform Act on Interstate Arbitration of Death Taxes [13820. - 13820.13.]

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC 7.

in effect

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820. Section 13820.

When the Controller claims that a decedent was domiciled in this state at the time of his or her death and the taxing authorities of another state or states make a like claim on behalf of their state or states, the Controller may make a written agreement with the other taxing authorities and with the executor or administrator to submit the controversy to the decision of a board consisting of one or any uneven number of arbitrators (hereafter referred to in this article as “board”). The executor or administrator is hereby authorized to make the agreement. The parties to the agreement shall select the arbitrator or arbitrators.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820.1. Section 13820.1.

The board shall hold hearings at such times and places as it may determine, upon reasonable notice to the parties to the agreement, all of whom shall be entitled to be heard, to present evidence and to examine and cross-examine witnesses.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820.2. Section 13820.2.

The board shall have power to administer oaths, take testimony, subpoena and require the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers and documents, and issue commissions to take testimony. Subpoenas may be signed by any member of the board. In case of failure to obey a subpoena, any judge of a court of record of this state, upon application by the board, may make an order requiring compliance with the subpoena, and the court may punish failure to obey the order as a contempt.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820.3. Section 13820.3.

The board shall, by majority vote, determine the domicile of the decedent at the time of his or her death. This determination shall be final for purposes of imposing and collecting death taxes but for no other purpose.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820.4. Section 13820.4.

Except as provided in Section 13820.2 in respect of the issuance of subpoenas, all questions arising in the course of the proceeding shall be determined by majority vote of the board.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820.5. Section 13820.5.

The Controller, the board, or the executor or administrator shall file the determination of the board as to domicile, the record of the board’s proceedings, and the agreement, or a duplicate, made pursuant to Section 13820, with the authority having jurisdiction to determine the death taxes in the state determined to be the domicile and shall file copies of all such documents with the authorities that would have been empowered to determine the death taxes in each of the other states involved.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820.6. Section 13820.6.

In any case where it is determined by the board that the decedent died domiciled in this state, interest, if otherwise imposed by law, for nonpayment of death taxes between the date of the agreement and of filing of the determination of the board as to domicile, shall not exceed 10 percent per annum.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820.7. Section 13820.7.

Nothing contained herein shall prevent at any time a written compromise, if otherwise lawful, by all parties to the agreement made pursuant to Section 13820, fixing the amounts to be accepted by this and any other state involved in full satisfaction of death taxes.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820.8. Section 13820.8.

The compensation and expenses of the members of the board and its employees may be agreed upon among those members and the executor or administrator and if they cannot agree shall be fixed by the superior court of the state determined by the board to be the domicile of the decedent. The amounts so agreed upon or fixed shall be deemed an administration expense and shall be payable by the executor or administrator.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820.9. Section 13820.9.

This article shall apply only to cases in which each of the states involved has a law identical with or substantially similar to this act.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820.10. Section 13820.10.

As used in this article, the word “state” means any state, territory, or possession of the United States, and the District of Columbia.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820.11. Section 13820.11.

This article shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820.12. Section 13820.12.

This article may be cited as the “Uniform Act on Interstate Arbitration of Death Taxes.”

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 13820.13. Section 13820.13.

This article shall apply to estates of decedents dying before or after its enactment.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026