Complicated question

[Mcshadow618]

My mother passed in 2013. My father passed in 2022.  A full two years after his death, I (as the executor) received a notice from MetLife that my father was the sole beneficiary of my mothers pension plan. I was finally able to collect the funds, and dispersed amongst myself and three siblings in 2025. . The amount was roughly 12k each. I was able to finally close out his estate in 2026.  There were no other assets. 

So the estate collected the pension payout but the heirs collected money from the estate. How the heck do we report? Is it income? He passed in south carolina which does not tax inheritance money. we all live in different states. 

[dmertz · Accepted solution]

The taxable amount shown in box 2a of the Form 1099-R is income to your father's estate, reportable on an estate income tax return Form 1041, including Schedules K-1 showing this Distributable Net Income as having been passed through to the estate beneficiaries for inclusion and taxation on the beneficiaries' tax returns.

Assuming that the estate uses a calendar income tax year, this is reportable on a 2025 Form 1041 which has a due date of April 15, 2026 (unless a filing extension is requested providing an automatic 5½ month extension) and the income passed through to the estate beneficiaries will be reportable on the beneficiaries' 2025 tax returns.  The estate will take a deduction for the income distributed to the beneficiaries, so the estate will not owe any taxes.