GeorgeM777
Expert Alumni

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It appears that the option was exercised, and accordingly shares were purchased, and the shares subsequently transferred to the beneficiary.  The exercise of the option is a transaction, and options to purchase stock are capital assets.  As per IRS guidance, use Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets, to report most sales and exchanges of capital assets.  Thus, reporting the income from box 3, 1099-Misc, on line 8, Form 1041, does not appear to be the correct way to treat this income. 

 

If the option had a value at the time it was exercised, and that value resulted in a capital gain/loss for the estate, then the estate would likely need to report that gain/loss on Schedule D to the Form 1041. 

 

Generally, a beneficiary that inherits stock (and that appears to be the case here) receives the stock with a "stepped up basis," in that the basis is the value of the stock as of the date of death of the decedent.  

 

The basis used to figure gain or loss for property the estate receives from the decedent usually is its fair market value at the date of death.   Thus, the fact that the 1099-Misc reflects the value of the options as of the date of the decedent is consistent with IRS guidance.  

 

Here is a link to the IRS Publication 559 that addresses, among other things, how Executors/Administrators should complete federal income tax returns for estates.  

 

IRS Publication 559 for Survivors, Executors, and Administrators

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