Sale of a decedent's automobile

[JenHusk]

Does an estate return need to be prepared if the only income is the sale of the decedent's automobile under the FMV price?  Decedent had no wages, no interest or dividend income, no home, no savings.  Only an automobile and less than $600 in a checking account.  

[TomK2023]

Maybe?  What state did the decedent live in?  Was there a will?  Does your state require probate process?  You may need  to consult an estate lawyer.   

[JenHusk]

Decedent was in Illinois and there was no will.  The estate is currently in probate. 

[ThomasM125]

One would assume the car will be sold for a loss or at the basis of fair market value when it transferred to the trust, so there woud not likely be any gain on it's sale. You don't need to file a federal trust return if the trust income is under $600, so the answer is no as far as the federal trust return is concerned. It seems you do have to file a trust return in Illinois if you have any trust income, but the car sale will likely not generate a gain, so it's not likely you have to file an Illinois trust return either. The $600 in checking is not income, so that wouldn't count.

@JenHusk 

{edited 3/13/23 at 4:30 PM PST}

[JenHusk]

Let me clarify.  The decedent had less than $600 in his checking at the time of the sale of the vehicle.  The vehicle was sold for 20k with a FMV of 23k at the time of the sale so therefor there was no gain, correct?  The estate has one asset which is the checking account with a balance of 20k+.     

[ErnieS0]

Yes. There is no gain. You have a loss on the sale. Losses of the sale of personal property are not deductible.