Filing for deceased brother

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
May 6, 2020
1 reply
18 views

Yesterday I filed a 1040 for my deceased brother using TurboTax. (He died earlier this year and I'm filing his 2019 returns) I am the court-appointed Administrator handling his final affairs. At the end of the process, TurboTax informed me that I could not file electronically for him even though the website and the IRS site both say this is allowed. I had no choice but to choose the option to file a paper copy and I printed out the federal and state returns. Today I learned that the IRS is not processing paper returns and they strongly encourage electronic filing. My brother is owed a refund and I provided the bank direct deposit info for the estate account I set up for him. I don't need to file a 1310 form since I'm not claiming his refund for myself, but due to somewhat vague instructions I wasn't aware of this as I was inputting the data. Is there any way I can resolve this issue and file electronically?

Best answer by macuser_22

I do not believe that the IRS says that. That provision is for a spouse filing for a deceased spouse, not another person.

When filing for a non-spouse you are required to sign the return with your name as "personal representative for xxxx) - or executor if you were appointed executor by a court. It is not possible to sign a e-file that way - only with pen and ink on paper.

(e-filed returns are deemed to have been signed by the person named on the tax return and it not possible for a deceased person to sign and file their own tax return._

Suggest that you read IRS Pub 559 (Survivors, Executors, and Administrators) for a lot of good information about filing the final return and estate return and other requirements.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p559.pdf

macuser_22

Answer

Alumni - Champ

I do not believe that the IRS says that. That provision is for a spouse filing for a deceased spouse, not another person.

(e-filed returns are deemed to have been signed by the person named on the tax return and it not possible for a deceased person to sign and file their own tax return._

**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**