Do I need to file a final tax return for my deceased brother for whom I was named independent administrator for? He was not married and had no children?

[tooserene25-gmai]

He died without a will and I have no access to a W2 or information on deductions.

[ThomasM125]

I am sorry for your loss. If you are the administrator of his estate, you shoud take reasonable efforts to file his final return. As a practical matter, if you can't file the return because you don't have the necessary tax documents, the IRS will likely file the return on his behalf from the information they have, but only if he owed taxes. In that case, you may get a notice many months or years from the due date of the return requesting a tax payment.

[Opus 17]

If your brother was single, with no dependents, his filing requirement would be the same as anyone else in the same situation.  He must file a tax return if his taxable income was more than $12,900, or more than $14,000 if he was over age 65.   Or, he must file a return if he was self-employed, and had more than $400 of net profit. 

If you have been appointed administrator by the court, you have the legal authority to seek out information about his bank accounts, any W-2s, 1099s, retirement statements, or other documents.

You may not distribute his property to yourself, or his other heirs until his final tax debt, and any other legal debts are satisfied. If you distribute his property to his heirs without filing a tax return, and he is later audited, the IRS can confiscate money from his heirs to pay the taxes.

You can start by filing an automatic extension so that you will have until October 15 to gather all the necessary information.