Form 1041 -- If all income received and all distributions made during fiscal year, only one 1041 necessary?

[victoria1970]

My father passed away on May 30, 2019, and I'm preparing the estate’s Form 1041 as his executor.  I’ve chosen a fiscal year for accounting and tax purposes, beginning May 30, 2019 and ending April 15, 2020, with a filing deadline of August 15, 2020.

The estate received income in both 2019 and 2020.  All income will have been received by the estate and all distributions to the beneficiaries will be made prior to the April 15, 2020 fiscal year end.

Can I file just one 1041 based on this fiscal year?  Or do I need to file an initial one in 2019 and a final one in 2020?  The IRS instructions state:  “Period Covered:  File the 2019 return for . . . fiscal years beginning in 2019 and ending in 2020. “  I read this to say that if all income is received and all distributions made during the period covered by the chosen fiscal year that begins in 2019 and ends in 2020, that only one 1041 would need to be filed.

If the answer is that I may file only one 1041 return covering the May 30, 2019 to April 15, 2020 fiscal year, my concern is that I haven’t yet received 1099-DIVs for the dividend income in early 2020, and won’t receive them until early 2021.  Can I request 1099-DIVs from the estate’s brokerage firm, and if so, will the brokerage immediately provide them as well to the IRS so they match my 2019/2020 fiscal year 1041 filing?

Thank you!

[fanfare]

You can file without including a copy of 1099-DIV if you know the dividends will stop before April 15, 2020.

Otherwise, choosing a non-calendar fiscal period isn't really going to help you.

No, they can't be issued early.

If the Dividend (and all other income) in your fiscal period is less than $600, you don't have to file an estate return.

[tagteam · Accepted solution]

A fiscal year is 12 consecutive months ending on the last day of any month except December.

Unless you have a required tax year, you adopt a tax year by filing your first income tax return using that tax year.

See https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tax-years

Of course you can always request that the brokerage firm issue 1099s for the 2020 tax year currently, but it is doubtful whether or not they will comply with the request; accounting systems for tax reporting statements are typically structured based on calendar years.

[victoria1970]

Thank you!  That was a typo in my question.  I meant to say a fiscal year beginning May 30, 2019 and ending on April 30, 2020.

So if all income is received and all distributions are completed within this fiscal year, then I only need to file one estate tax return, and that will be the first and final return, correct?

Thanks, again!

[tagteam · Accepted solution]

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@victoria1970 wrote:

So if all income is received and all distributions are completed within this fiscal year, then I only need to file one estate tax return, and that will be the first and final return, correct?

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That is correct; your initial return can also be your final return.

Also, as @fanfare mentioned, if the income in your fiscal period is less than $600, you do not have to file an estate income tax return.

[victoria1970]

Thank you very much.   There is more than $600 in income, so I'll have to file the 1041.  This is more complicated than I imagined and I appreciate the advice from you both!