How to file taxes for a deceased person

A short note before you start

This guide explains how filing a final tax return for someone who died usually works in the United States. It is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm anything specific to your situation with a CPA or your state's tax agency.

Who has to file a deceased person's final tax return?

A surviving spouse, or the executor or personal representative handling the estate, files the deceased person's final return². With no court-appointed representative, whoever is in charge of the deceased person's property is responsible⁶.

The same gross income filing thresholds that apply to any taxpayer apply to a decedent's final return, based on the person's age at death⁷:

⁷. Even below the threshold, it is often worth filing anyway if the person had tax withheld or qualifies for a refundable credit, since a refund is only paid if a return is filed.

How do you file a deceased person's final tax return?

File the same forms you would use for a living person, Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR⁴. The steps below cover what's different because the taxpayer has died.

1. Gather income records for the year: W-2s, 1099s, brokerage statements, and Social Security benefit statements up to the date of death.
2. Mark the return: write "Deceased," the person's name, and the date of death across the top, or check the "Deceased" box next to the name line⁴.
3. Choose the filing status. A surviving spouse can generally still file "married filing jointly" or "married filing separately" for the year of death¹.
4. Claim all the credits and deductions the person would have been entitled to had they lived the full year².
5. Sign the return, following the rule in "Who signs" below.
6. Attach Form 1310 if a refund is due, unless you qualify for the exception described below.
7. File by the normal deadline, generally April 15 of the year after the death, unless you request an extension¹.
8. File any unfiled prior-year returns too. Form 4506-T can help you confirm what the IRS has on file².

Who signs a deceased person's tax return?

• A court-appointed personal representative (executor or administrator) signs the return; on a joint return, the surviving spouse signs too⁶.
• With no appointed representative, a surviving spouse filing jointly signs alone and writes "Filing as surviving spouse" in the signature area⁴.
• With no representative and no surviving spouse, the person in charge of the decedent's property signs and writes "personal representative" next to the signature⁶.

Filing IRS Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship, tells the IRS who is acting for the estate, so correspondence and any balance due go to the right person¹⁰.

Do you need Form 1310 to claim a refund?

You need Form 1310 to claim a refund on a deceased person's return, unless you are a surviving spouse filing jointly or a court-appointed personal representative, who can skip it⁵. Everyone else must file it, generally within three years of the original due date.

Does the estate also have to file its own tax return?

Yes, if it earns income after the death. The estate is its own taxpayer, separate from the final Form 1040, and needs its own Employer Identification Number to open an account and file³.

⁸.

Money or property you inherit is generally not itself taxable income. What can be taxable is income the inherited asset produces afterward, and any gain if you sell it above its value on the date of death, since inherited assets usually get a stepped-up basis to that value⁶. See our step-up in basis guide for more.

How does the qualifying surviving spouse status work?

A surviving spouse with a dependent child can often file as a qualifying surviving spouse for the two tax years after the year their spouse died, keeping the higher married-filing-jointly standard deduction and brackets¹. For the year of death itself, the surviving spouse files as married filing jointly or separately instead.

Do state income taxes work the same way?

Mostly, but every state sets its own rules; confirm details with your state's tax agency. Nine states, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming, have no individual income tax, so no state final return is needed there¹⁵,¹⁶. States that do tax income generally mirror the federal process: California has the personal representative or surviving spouse file and sign, writing "Deceased" and the date of death across the top¹³, and New York has the executor file the return the decedent would have filed if living¹⁴. Search "[your state] department of revenue deceased taxpayer" for your own state's rules.

What should you record in a family guide?

A few tax details, kept together, save the person handling your estate real time and guesswork.

• Where your last three years of tax returns are kept, or who prepared them
• Your CPA or tax preparer's name and contact information, if you have one
• Whether you have an IRS Identity Protection PIN, and where a note about it is kept, not the PIN itself
• Any outstanding tax balance, payment plan, or prior-year unfiled return
• Property records relevant to cost basis, such as home purchase price and major improvements

This is the kind of information a family guide keeps in one place. See our executor checklist for the fuller list of documents to gather.

Printable checklist

• Confirm whether the final Form 1040 is required, based on the income thresholds above

• Gather W-2s, 1099s, brokerage and Social Security statements

• Decide who signs, and write "Deceased," name and date of death across the top

• File Form 1310 if a refund is due and no exception applies

• File Form 56 to notify the IRS who is acting for the estate

• Get an EIN; file Form 1041 if estate income reaches $600

• Determine whether Form 706 is needed, or wanted for portability, with a CPA

• File any unfiled prior-year returns and check your state's rules

• File by the deadline, or submit Form 4868 to extend the filing date only

• Notify the IRS and one credit bureau of the death

What mistakes do people commonly make?

• Filing late because no one realized a final return was still required¹.
• Forgetting Form 1310 when a refund claimant is not a surviving spouse filing jointly or a court-appointed representative, which delays the refund⁵.
• Signing incorrectly, for example forgetting to write "Filing as surviving spouse" or "personal representative"⁴.
• Mixing up the final Form 1040 with the estate's separate Form 1041.
• Assuming inherited money is taxable income; only income the asset produces afterward, or a later sale above its stepped-up basis, is taxable⁶.
• Waiting too long to notify the IRS, leaving the Social Security number open to a fraudulent return¹².
• Assuming Form 4868 extends the payment deadline; it only extends the time to file.

When to get professional help

Many simple final returns can be filed without help. Bring in a CPA when the estate has significant income-producing assets, when Form 1041 or Form 706 might be needed, or when you are unsure who should sign. If the decedent's 2025 adjusted gross income was $89,000 or less, IRS Free File software is available at no cost¹¹.