Please see this TurboTax tips article and this help article for more details regarding filing a return for a deceased person. In the Personal info section of TurboTax, a question appears asking if the person for whom the return is being filed has died.
Upon the death of a taxpayer, a new taxpaying entity—the taxpayer's estate—is born to ensure no taxable income falls through the cracks. Generally, income is taxed either:
- on the taxpayer's final return,
- on the return of the beneficiary who acquires the right to receive the income, or
- on the estate's or a trust's income tax return, if the estate or trust receives $600 or more of income.
The filing of the deceased taxpayer's final return usually falls to the executor or administrator of the estate, but if neither is named, then the task needs to be taken over by a survivor of the deceased. The final return is filed on the same form that would have been used if the taxpayer were still alive, but "Deceased:" is written at the top of the return followed by the person's name and the date of death. The deadline to file a final return is the tax filing deadline of the year following the taxpayer's death.
If your mother's funds were used to pay for a private caregiver in her home, and they were paid directly rather than through an employing agency, the caregiver is normally treated as a household employee rather than an independent contractor, and her return may need to include Schedule H. The tax return must include Schedule H only if you paid any single employee at least $2,600 in the 2023 tax year, or cash wages to all household employees totaling $1,000 or more during any three-month calendar quarter during either the current or previous tax year.
Please see this TurboTax Tips Article and IRS Topic No. 756 for more information regarding household employees.
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