Filing for an estate

[sbsvwa]

My mother passed away in mid-December last year (2023).  We have a tax accountant filing her final tax return, but we're wondering what to do about the half month that she wasn't alive, since her assets generated income during that period (mostly accrued interest from money markets and CDs).

We're still going through probate, and while I know I'll be named the executor, that is still some weeks in the future.

Are we responsible for filing a return this year for those final weeks in 2023 on behalf of her estate, even though the estate is still going through probate?

[ThomasM125]

You would have to file a trust tax return Form 1041 for the last half of December only if the estate earned more than $600 in income from the date your other died until the end of the year. The same requirement would apply to 2024, from the beginning of the year until the date all of her property was distributed to beneficiaries.

I am sorry for your loss.

[tagteam · Accepted solution]

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@sbsvwa wrote:

Are we responsible for filing a return this year for those final weeks in 2023 on behalf of her estate, even though the estate is still going through probate?

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Yes, if you are the personal representative (e.g., executor).

Note that you most likely have the option of using a fiscal year for the estate's income tax return.

See https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1041#en_US_2023_publink1000285977

and

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p559#en_US_2023_publink100099754