He or she will just sign as the surviving spouse. Who will sign the return? What if there is a refund?Ī surviving spouse filing a joint return need not do anything special. (Note, however, that the surviving spouse may need to make estimated payments for his or her own tax liability.)Įven if the deceased taxpayer was taking advantage of the prior-year-tax safe harbor in making estimated tax payments and the Form 1040 ends up with a balance due later on, the tax preparer can eliminate filing the Form 2210, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals, Estates, and Trusts. If the deceased taxpayer was paying an amount each quarter to cover the expected tax liability for that quarter, he or she would no longer need to make those payments after the tax year ends. The decedent’s tax year ends on the date of death, so only income received through that date is reportable on the final Form 1040. 1.6654-2(e)(7) indicate no joint estimated tax payments can be made after death and the estate has no liability to make further payments, it makes practical sense that no payments are needed, too. Many well-meaning family members continue to submit the decedent’s quarterly estimated tax vouchers, which is not necessary and may require taking funds out of an investment portfolio, where they could otherwise be growing and earning income for as long as a year. Once a taxpayer dies, he or she is no longer required to make estimated tax payments. Here are some things I have learned about tax planning and preparation during a quarter century of helping clients after the loss of a loved one.

Practitioners should aim to stride confidently into the final Form 1040 preparation and come out of it with tax savings for the decedent’s family. Often, the most that tax practitioners do differently from a return for a living client is to determine who can sign the return on the decedent’s behalf.īut it is better to take control of the situation and make the final Form 1040 a powerful and effective part of the post-mortem planning process. Because they don’t encounter them often, many tax practitioners are hesitant to prepare a decedent’s final Form 1040, U.S.

2016 extension form estate tax return