Do I have to file a trust income tax return for only $20 in interest income?

[Karen12]

I am the trustee of a trust. In the first year after the decedent's death the tax return was complex. Now that substantially all assets are distributed it is quite simple. There are a few expenses pertaining to maintenance of the principal remaining asset (a house) and $20 in interest income from the trust's checking account. Instructions for Form 1041 state that a return must be filed if there is any taxable income. If there is only $20 in interest income and a few thousand dollars in home maintenance costs, is it necessary to file a 1041?

[loralyn56]

Hi! I am a trustee of a small subdivision, 20 homes. We ask each neighbor for $30 each year to cover costs of maintaining the common ground. We then place this money in a 0 interest bearing bank account. Do we have any obligation to file any type of tax return?

[ScruffyCurmudgeon]

A Complex Trust has a $100 Exemption, meaning that if the total taxable income was less than $100, there is no obligation to file a Form 1041.

Some practitioners hold that it is good practice, nevertheless, to file a Form 1041 so as to document the final flow of the Trust's assets, but as for tax obligation, no need.