Form 1041 - estate tax filing requirements

[shydig]

Reviewing Publication 559 (Survivors, Executors & Administrators) communicates that the requirement for filing Form 1041 is waived if the estate has less than $600 of income.   My question arises around the timing of the transfer of a financial account to a beneficiary.  In any death & transfer process I can imagine, there is lag time between the date of death and transfer of funds or an account to a beneficiary.   So if it takes two months before the broker/banker transfers the account directly to a beneficiary, how is the interim period treated?  

My follow-on question relates to an executor's obligation to file K-1's for each beneficiary.  If the estate has less than the $600 of income the Form 1041 is not required.  The K-1's seem to be a component of the Form 1041 filing.  If the estate doesn't meet the Form 1041 filing threshold, is the executor still required to file K-1's?  

[M-MTax · Accepted solution]

Either the estate or directly to the beneficiaries depending on state law and type of property. No return required or K-1s if less than $600.