When to file estate taxes?

[s_legaspi]

How do I determine if an taxes need to be filed for an estate? There was no "income" other than refunds from cancelled accounts during the tax year.

[AmyT · Accepted solution]

Refunds from closed accounts are not considered to be taxable income unless they are for amounts that were previously deducted.

If the estate has $600 or less in taxable income, there is no requirement to file a return.

[s_legaspi]

What would be examples of taxable income on an estate?  Sale of personal property included?

[AmyT]

When a person passes away, their assets are revalued so that the basis in them is the fair market value as of their date of death.  If you sell the assets within a relatively short time frame (i.e., less than one year), then you can consided the basis to be equal to the selling price.  Unless you received a 1099 or other tax form reporting income from the sale, you should not need to include it as estate income.