Who this is for
- Executors and personal representatives of a US citizen or resident who died
- Surviving spouses filing the year-of-death return
- Trustees of a revocable living trust that became irrevocable at death
- Heirs who received a Schedule K-1 or an IRS letter about a parent's taxes
Not covered here
- Probate, wills, trust drafting and estate planning
- Preparing Form 706 or calculating estate tax
- Trusts taxed to a living grantor
- State income, estate and inheritance tax returns
Which tax returns does an executor file after a parent or spouse dies?
After a death there are three taxpayers: the person who died, the estate, and the heirs. The executor (the IRS says "personal representative", which includes anyone in charge of the person's property) files the person's final Form 1040 for the year of death and any earlier year they never filed. A year needs a return if the person's gross income, age and filing status met the filing requirement, or to claim back tax withheld, estimated tax paid or a credit (Publication 559). The estate files its own Form 1041 when its gross income reaches $600. Heirs report what the estate passes to them.
| Taxpayer | Return | Covers | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| The person who died | Final Form 1040 | Income from January 1 to the date of death | April 15 of the year after the year of death; Form 4868 extends it |
| The person who died | Any unfiled earlier Form 1040s | The prior year, if death came before it was filed, and older years never filed | Prior year: its normal due date; older years: already past due |
| The estate | Form 1041 with Schedules K-1 | Income received after death | the 15th day of the fourth month after the end of the tax year |
| The heirs | Their own Form 1040 | K-1 income and income they receive directly, such as inherited IRA payouts | Their normal due date |
| The estate | Form 706 (estate tax) | Only if required or elected | nine months after death |
Form 706 is a separate return. For deaths this year it is required when the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts is more than $15,000,000 (the figure was lower for earlier deaths), or when the executor wants to pass the unused exclusion to a surviving spouse (portability) (Form 706 instructions). An estate under the threshold that files only for portability has until the fifth anniversary of death under Rev. Proc. 2022-32.
A case stops being simple when the person had unfiled years or an IRS balance, when debts may exceed assets, when a revocable trust holds most of the property, when the person owned property in several states or countries, or when an heir lives abroad (a nonresident alien beneficiary requires Form 1041 whatever the estate's income).
Gather first: the death certificate, the court's letters testamentary (the probate court document naming the executor) or other proof of appointment, the person's last three filed returns, IRS transcripts, every W-2 and 1099 for the year of death, date-of-death values of each asset, IRA and life insurance beneficiary forms, and any trust document.
Who signs the final 1040, and can a surviving spouse still file jointly?
A court-appointed personal representative signs the final return. A surviving spouse can file a joint return for the year of death, signing with the representative, or alone if no representative was appointed by the due date (Publication 559).
- Write "DECEASED," the name and the date of death across the top of the return.
- On a joint return with no representative, the spouse signs and writes "Filing as surviving spouse."
- With no representative and no spouse, the person in charge of the deceased person's property signs as "personal representative."
- A spouse who remarried before the end of the year of death cannot file jointly with the person who died; the final return is then married filing separately.
- A court-appointed representative can revoke a joint return the spouse filed alone, by filing a separate return within one year after its due date, including extensions.
A joint return makes both spouses' tax a shared liability, so the representative and the spouse should agree on it before filing. For the two years after the year of death, a surviving spouse who has not remarried and keeps a home for a dependent child may file as a qualifying surviving spouse, using joint-return rates.
Form 1310 claims a refund for a deceased person. It is not needed when a surviving spouse files a joint return, or when a court-appointed representative files the original return with a copy of the court certificate attached. Anyone else claiming the refund, and a representative filing an amended return, attaches Form 1310 (About Form 1310; Publication 559). Do not attach the death certificate to the return; keep it in case the IRS asks.
How do I tell the IRS I'm the executor, and get old returns and transcripts?
File Form 56 to tell the IRS you are acting for the person and the estate, as soon as you have the estate's EIN (Publication 559; About Form 56). The notice stays in effect until you file another Form 56 ending it.
To get records, send the request with the person's name, last address and Social Security number, a copy of the death certificate, and either court-approved letters testamentary or Form 56 (with a copy of any letters the court issued) (Request deceased person's information):
| You need | Form | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Line entries from filed returns, or W-2 and 1099 income the IRS received | Form 4506-T (transcript) | Free; an online request mails to the person's address of record instead |
| A full copy of a filed return | Form 4506 | Fee for each return |
| The amount the person owes | Payoff request | At a Taxpayer Assistance Center or through IRS payment options |
You may also need to change the person's address of record so IRS letters reach you: Form 8822 with Form 56 (or Form 2848) attached.
Which income goes on the final return, and which goes to the estate or heirs?
The final Form 1040 reports income the person received up to the date of death, if they reported income when they received it (the cash method), as most people do. Income they had earned but not yet received is "income in respect of a decedent" and is taxed to whoever receives it: the estate, or a beneficiary who receives it directly (Publication 559).
| Item | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Wages, pension and interest paid before death | Final Form 1040 |
| Final paycheck or bonus paid after death | Estate or the person paid (income in respect of a decedent) |
| Dividends, interest and rent paid after death on estate assets | Form 1041 |
| Traditional IRA or 401(k) paid to a named beneficiary | That beneficiary, as income in respect of a decedent |
| Gain or loss when an asset, such as the house, is sold | Generally measured from its value at death (or the alternate valuation date, if elected on Form 706): on Form 1041 if the estate sells, or on the heir's own return if sold after distribution |
Two traps. First, inherited property generally takes its value at death as its new basis, but that step-up does not apply to income in respect of a decedent, so an inherited traditional IRA stays taxable when withdrawn (26 U.S.C. 1014(c)). Second, a 1099 issued in the person's name can mix income from before and after death; the executor splits it between the final return and the estate.
Funeral costs are not deductible on the final Form 1040 or on Form 1041. Medical bills the estate pays within one year after death can be deducted on the person's return for the year they were incurred, if it itemizes, with a statement waiving the deduction on Form 706 (use Form 1040-X for an earlier year) (Publication 559).
Does the estate need its own EIN and Form 1041, and when is it due?
Generally yes, as one of the executor's first steps, because banks and brokers must report income after death under the estate's number, not the person's Social Security number (Publication 559). An EIN applied for online is generally issued at once. Income on property that passes straight to a surviving joint owner or a named beneficiary is reported under that person's number instead; if nothing left in the estate earns income, it may have no Form 1041 to file.
A domestic estate must file Form 1041 for any tax year with gross income of $600 or more, or with a beneficiary who is a nonresident alien (Form 1041 instructions).
- Tax year: the executor picks it on the first return. It can be the calendar year or any period ending on the last day of a month, no longer than 12 months, starting at death.
- Due date: the 15th day of the fourth month after the end of the tax year. A calendar-year estate files by April 15.
- Extension: Form 7004 gives an automatic 5½-month extension to file, not to pay; interest runs on unpaid tax from the original due date.
- Last return: the estate files until the assets are distributed. If settlement drags on unreasonably, the IRS can treat the estate as ended anyway.
When do heirs get a Schedule K-1, and who pays tax on the estate's income?
Income the estate distributes, or must distribute, is taxed to the heirs, who receive a Schedule K-1; income the estate keeps is taxed to the estate. The same income is not taxed twice (Publication 559).
- The executor gives each beneficiary a K-1 by Form 1041's due date (the extended date if Form 7004 was filed), and needs each beneficiary's taxpayer ID to do it.
- Heirs report K-1 income in their own tax year in which the estate's tax year ends, so a fiscal-year estate can push the income into the following year.
- The executor can elect, on a Form 1041 filed by its due date (including extensions), to treat payments made within 65 days after the estate's year ends as made in that year.
- Distributed income keeps its type: dividends stay dividends on the heir's return.
- Capital gains usually stay with the estate. They pass to heirs only when the gain is actually distributed, allocated to income under the will or local law, or used to set the payout.
- A specific gift of money or property paid in three or fewer installments is generally not taxable income to the heir.
In the estate's final year, unused losses and deductions greater than income pass on K-1 box 11 to the heirs who receive the estate's remaining property (Form 1041 instructions).
What happens to the deceased person's capital loss and other carryovers?
A capital loss carryover or net operating loss the person had can be used only on the final Form 1040. Whatever is left after that return is lost: it cannot move to the estate's Form 1041 or to the heirs (Publication 559). On a joint final return, the surviving spouse keeps carrying forward the part of the loss that was their own (Publication 550).
A net capital loss offsets other income on the final return only up to $3,000 ($1,500 if married filing separately), after offsetting the person's capital gains. Gains realized before death can absorb a large carryover; gains the estate realizes later cannot. Suspended passive losses are generally allowed on the final return, reduced by any basis step-up the heir receives.
Losses the estate itself builds up are different: unused capital loss and loss carryovers of the estate pass, when it ends, to the heirs who receive its remaining property, if the estate could have used them later.
Can a revocable living trust file together with the estate (the section 645 election)?
Yes, if the person could revoke the trust when they died. Its trustee and the executor (if any) can elect under section 645, on Form 8855, to have the trust taxed as part of the estate. One Form 1041 then covers both under the estate's name and EIN (Form 1041 instructions; About Form 8855).
- Deadline: Form 8855 is due by the due date of the estate's first Form 1041, including an extension, even if the estate has too little income to file.
- Cannot be undone: the election is irrevocable once made.
- Election period: from death until all assets are distributed, but no later than the day before two years after death if no Form 706 is required (longer if one is).
- New tax ID: every qualified revocable trust needs its own new tax ID after the death, whether or not it elects.
- Why it can help: one return covers both, and the trust's income can use estate rules, such as a fiscal year.
If no executor is appointed, the trustee files Form 1041 as if the trust were the estate, under the trust's new tax ID.
My parent never filed taxes for years: must the executor file them?
Yes, for each earlier year that met the filing requirement or is owed a refund: the personal representative files those returns and pays any balance from the estate (Publication 559; IRS). A return is also the only way to recover tax withheld from wages, pensions or IRA payouts.
Start with wage and income transcripts on Form 4506-T to see what payers reported and to confirm which years have no return. For how many years to file, rebuilding records and penalties, see catching up on unfiled US returns. If an IRS letter already proposes more tax, see responding to a CP2000.
Who pays the IRS debt of a deceased person: the estate, the executor or the heirs?
The estate pays, from its assets, both the tax the person who died owed and its own tax. The executor or an heir can become liable when estate property is handed out before the IRS is paid (Publication 559).
| Who | When they can owe |
|---|---|
| The estate | Always first: the person's unpaid income tax and the estate's own tax are debts of the estate |
| The executor | If the estate cannot pay all debts and the executor paid others first, knowing or failing to check that federal tax was owed; liability reaches the amount paid out ahead of the IRS, other than debts that by law rank ahead of it |
| An heir | For the estate's income tax, up to the value of estate assets received; the IRS can also pursue people who received property for the person's unpaid tax (26 U.S.C. 6901) |
| A surviving spouse | On any joint return they signed |
When an estate cannot pay all its debts, debts to the United States generally come first (31 U.S.C. 3713). The executor's personal exposure applies even if the IRS has not formally assessed the tax, as long as the executor knew or should have known about it.
How does an executor limit personal risk before handing everything out (Forms 4810 and 5495)?
Once every return is filed and the tax shown is paid, two optional requests can shorten the IRS's time to assess or release the executor personally, before the final distribution (Publication 559):
| Form | What it does | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Form 4810, prompt assessment | Shortens the IRS's normal three years to assess more tax (any tax except estate tax, on the person's or the estate's returns) to 18 months from when it receives the request | Filed separately, after the returns are filed (26 U.S.C. 6501(d)) |
| Form 5495, discharge from personal liability | The IRS tells the executor what is owed within nine months; once that is paid, or if the IRS does not answer in nine months, the executor is released from personal liability for later deficiencies | Covers the person's income and gift taxes (26 U.S.C. 6905) and estate tax (26 U.S.C. 2204), not the estate's own Form 1041 tax; the executor must be appointed and acting in the US |
Form 4810 does not shorten the period if income reported was understated by more than 25% of the gross income on the return, or if the return was false or fraudulent; even then, it can relieve an executor who did not know of the unpaid tax. Form 5495 releases the executor personally, not the estate: the IRS can still collect from estate property the executor holds. Until these windows close, tax assessed later can still fall on an executor who has distributed everything.
Does the estate have to make quarterly estimated tax payments?
Not in its first two years. An estate pays no estimated tax for any tax year ending less than two years after the date of death (Form 1041 instructions). After that it pays like an individual, generally when it expects to owe at least $1,000 after withholding and credits, using Form 1041-ES, unless it owed no tax for its full previous 12-month tax year. For the payments that avoid a penalty, see quarterly estimated tax payments.
The same two-year exception covers a revocable trust that receives what is left of the estate under the will. Never use the person's Social Security number for estimated payments after the year of death (Publication 559).
Example
These examples are illustrative; all figures are in US dollars.
A father dies in March
- Final Form 1040: his wages and pension from January to March, 20,000, go on his final return, due April 15 of next year.
- Estate, same year: the estate gets an EIN. It receives 4,000 of dividends and sells shares for 10,000 more than their date-of-death value. Gross income of 14,000 requires Form 1041.
- Distribution: the executor pays all tax and expenses, distributes the remaining assets, including the sale proceeds, equally to two children, and closes the estate. Because the gain was actually distributed, the estate's income passes out: each child gets a K-1 for about half (2,000 of dividends and 5,000 of capital gain) and reports it on their own return.
A mother with two unfiled years
- The letter: after her death, an IRS letter says she owes 4,000 on pension income (Form 1099-R) she never reported. The executor files Form 56 and requests wage and income transcripts on Form 4506-T.
- The returns: the transcripts show two years with income and no return. The executor files both returns, which show the 4,000, and the final Form 1040, and pays the tax, interest and penalties from the estate before distributing anything.
- Before the final distribution: the executor files Form 4810 and Form 5495. If no exception applies, the IRS has 18 months from receiving the Form 4810 request to assess more. The executor holds back a reserve until both windows close.
A revocable trust plus a small estate
- At death: a revocable trust holds the house and a 300,000 brokerage account; the estate holds a 5,000 bank account. The trust gets a new tax ID.
- First return: the trustee and executor file Form 8855 by the due date of the estate's first Form 1041. One Form 1041, under the estate's EIN, reports the income of both.
- Two years after death: no Form 706 is required, so the election period ends the day before the second anniversary of death, unless everything is distributed sooner. If the trust continues after that, it files its own Form 1041 when required.
Different for you?
- The person died while living in Canada: see final returns when a US citizen dies in Canada.
- The person who died was not a US citizen or resident: the final return is Form 1040-NR if one is required, and estate tax uses Form 706-NA; get individual tax help.
- A Canadian estate holds US assets: see settling an estate across the border.
- The death was in Canada (final T1 and clearance certificate): see taxes when someone dies in Canada.
- Several years were never filed, or an IRS bill already exists: start with catching up on unfiled US returns and get individual tax help.
- The IRS proposed more tax for the person (CP2000): see responding to an underreporter notice.
- The estate may not cover its debts, or a trust and an estate must be coordinated: the payment order and the section 645 election carry personal risk and cannot be undone; get individual tax help.
- The estate holds a fund or partnership interest: see inheriting a fund interest.
- You inherited from family abroad: see gifts and inheritances from abroad.
- You inherited a Canadian RRSP, RRIF or TFSA: see inheriting a Canadian RRSP, RRIF or TFSA as a US person.
- The parent's house is in another state: see nonresident state return thresholds.
- A surviving spouse is selling the home: see the home-sale exclusion.
- The person made large gifts in the year of death: see gift tax returns and the annual exclusion.
Figures on this page
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic US estate gross-income filing threshold Gross income of $600 or more triggers Form 1041 for a domestic estate; a nonresident-alien beneficiary or specified qualified-opportunity-fund reporting can independently require filing. | $600 | IRS: Instructions for Form 1041 Checked |
| Final Form 1040 due date for a decedent Publication 559: April 15 following the year of death. Whether an executor gets the automatic extension for a citizen abroad is not settled in the sources read. | April 15 of the year after the year of death | IRS: Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators Checked |
| Form 1041 due date for a domestic estate Calendar-year estates: April 15. Moves to the next business day on a weekend or holiday. | The 15th day of the fourth month after the end of the tax year | IRS: Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators Checked |
| Form 706 due date Estate tax is also due at nine months unless an extension of time to pay was granted. | Nine months after death | IRS: Instructions for Form 706 Checked |
| US citizen estate basic exclusion for deaths in 2026 The Canada–US treaty prorates the credit based on this exclusion; it does not grant the full exclusion to a Canadian estate | $15,000,000 Tax year 2026 | IRS: Estate tax inflation adjustments for 2026 Checked |
| Deadline for a return filed only to elect portability under Rev. Proc. 2022-32 For executors who had no filing requirement; the top of the return must carry the Rev. Proc. 2022-32 statement. | The fifth anniversary of death | IRS: Instructions for Form 706 Checked |
| Automatic extension of time to file Form 1041 for an estate or trust (Form 7004) Extends the time to file, not to pay; interest runs from the original due date. The IRS estate web page says 5 months; the Form 1041 instructions and Publication 559 say 5½ months. | 5½-month extension | IRS: Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 Checked |
| Annual limit on net capital loss deducted against other income $1,500 if married filing separately; the rest of a net capital loss carries forward | $3,000 | IRS: Topic 409, Capital gains and losses Checked |
| Annual limit on net capital loss deducted against other income, married filing separately The rest of a net capital loss carries forward | $1,500 | IRS: Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040) Checked |
| Omitted gross income above which a request for prompt assessment (Form 4810) does not shorten the assessment period More than this share of the gross income reported on the return; a false or fraudulent return is also excluded, as are the other exceptions in 26 U.S.C. 6501(c), (e) and (f), such as a large omission tied to specified foreign financial assets | 25% | IRS: Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators Checked |
| Expected estate or trust tax after withholding and credits that generally requires estimated payments Applies to an estate only for tax years ending two or more years after the date of death; paid on Form 1041-ES | $1,000 Tax year 2026 | IRS: Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 Checked |
Primary sources
- IRS: Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators
- IRS: Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1
- IRS: File an estate tax income tax return
- IRS: File the final income tax returns of a deceased person
- IRS: Request deceased person's information
- IRS: About Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship
- IRS: About Form 1310, Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer
- IRS: About Form 8855, Election to Treat a Qualified Revocable Trust as Part of an Estate
- IRS: About Form 4810, Request for Prompt Assessment
- IRS: About Form 5495, Request for Discharge from Personal Liability
- IRS: Instructions for Form 706
- IRS: Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses
- 26 U.S.C. 1014: Basis of property acquired from a decedent
- 26 U.S.C. 6501: Limitations on assessment and collection
- 26 U.S.C. 6901: Transferred assets
- 26 U.S.C. 6905: Discharge of executor from personal liability
- 26 U.S.C. 2204: Discharge of fiduciary from personal liability (estate tax)
- 31 U.S.C. 3713: Priority of Government claims
About this guide
Published by Cloud Accounting under standing professional approval. This version has no separately recorded personal review. It explains general rules for the tax year shown. It is not advice for your situation.
Changes
- : First published.