Turbotax won't let me efile for deceased

[pmernick1]

The only reason I purchased TurboTax was for the e-filing, which I was unable to do, as I explained. Plus, that is advertised as one of the features

[JohnH1]

Seems to me from reading the instructions that you do NOT need to fill out or file Form 1310

Who Must File
If you are claiming a refund on behalf of a deceased taxpayer,
you must file Form 1310 if:
• You are NOT a surviving spouse filing an original or amended
joint return with the decedent; and
• You are NOT a personal representative (defined later) filing,
for the decedent, an original Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040A,
1040EZ, 1040NR, or 1040-NR that has the court certificate
showing your appointment attached.
Example. Assume Mr. Green died on January 4 before filing
his tax return. On April 3 of the same year, you were appointed
by the court as the personal representative for Mr. Green’s
estate and you file Form 1040 for Mr. Green. You do not need to
file Form 1310 to claim the refund on Mr. Green’s tax return.
However, you must attach to his return a copy of the court
certificate showing your appointment.

Everyone in this thread is saying they ARE the legal representative therefor you do not file form 1310 but since you must attach the court document you will have to mail in the return. Read the instructions before trying to file a form. I recommend you all call the IRS to see if you can send in the court documents separately rather than attached if you really want to efile that badly. This is not a glitch in the program and that is why it has not been "fixed".

[BRH]

Perhaps this might help. I had this same problem 2 years ago when my mother passed away. If you have a refund in the return you are working on I found if by applying the refund to next years taxes the program would let me e-file. I was ok with that because I new I had to file next year and i was going to need to pay estimated taxes so that worked for me. Hope that helps

[JohnH1]

@BRH
That's at least something. 👍
Thanks for posting.

[pmernick1]

I WASN'T trying to send in the Form 1310 with the tax return. The glitch has nothing to do with this. It's TurboTax. Read the other posts/comments. 

For what it's worth, I'm a CPA so I know a little bit about filing a tax return. The problem is that TurboTax won't let you check the appropriate box, which is "court appointed personal representative."

The relevant/required forms had already been filed and received by the IRS

[Schmidlap]

Well, here we are in 2024 and this still has not been addressed....  I just spent over an hour on the phone with TT help and the wrap was basically "you need to either check box C, contradicting the facts, or paper file".  Totally unacceptable. 

After reviewing the IRS instructions for 1310, I believe it is, in fact, not required by the personal rep (unless filing an amended return, for some reason).  In my case, 1310 and supporting document were previously provided, so in any case there should be an option for that which lets you move on to e-file.

Bottom line is that TT says you need to file a 1310 if it is for a deceased taxpayer, period.  Then, they provide you with a 1310 form that cannot be filled out without errors that prevent filing (unless you misrepresent the facts, as per above).  Further, the service agents do not know anything about the form and/or the filing requirements, creating even more frustration and maybe leading to people filing incorrect 1310's.😖

[pmernick1]

Yes, another problem TurboTax won't fix.  It was the only reason I purchased the software that year and, of course, Intuit wouldn't refund for my purchase.

[Tom_T451]

It's now September 2024 and the problem has not been fixed yet.  We went through the same steps as everyone else on this thread and had the same frustrations. We screamed and cursed at the software for a while before we found this forum. I was a little relieved to learn that I am not the only one who is angry. TurboTax software tells us that we can file the 1040 electronically if the 1310 has already been filed but fails when we try to submit. It is also not always clear who they mean by "you".  I accidentally changed my father-in-law's birthdate to my wife's birthdate because it asked for the birthdate of the person actually submitting the return.

Part of the reason we filed for an extension was so we could file electronically after the IRS processed form 1310.  Does anyone know if TurboTax ever intends to fix this issue? Are there other places I can complain about this and write bad reviews. People have been complaining about this for years, and for every customer who complains, there are many others who are silently angry at the software.

[brianborges]

I have the same problem at 11 PM 10-15-2024. I have to believe that I will never use any Intuit product again. 

Call for Class Action is needed

This outrageous, along with the other problem that I had tonight with  no mortgage and trying to input property taxes, I now have in the personal info summary a second entry that reads in read:

Name Incomplete

Social Security number needed

Date of birth needed

Occupation needed

Passed away - Date of death needed

Miraculously it has the correct State of Residence (a non existent entry should have a State?)

Thanks for wasting my money, TurboTax,  and my whole day. 

[zbxd002]

I'll jump on the bandwagon.  Turbotax has it wrong, and it is mind-boggling that they have ignored this for so long. It makes one wonder how reliable anything else is in their software.  PLEASE, for the sake of those unfortunate souls who buy your software in the future (certainly no one on this thread), FIX THIS PROBLEM. 

Form 1310 (Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer) is used to claim a tax refund on behalf of a deceased taxpayer when there is no court-appointed personal representative.

You must file Form 1310 if:
You are not a court-appointed executor or administrator, but you are claiming a refund for a deceased taxpayer (e.g., a surviving spouse, child, or other heir).

A court-appointed personal representative (executor or administrator) does NOT need to file Form 1310. Instead, they simply attach a copy of the court appointment document (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) to the tax return.

When Filing Electronically (E-File issue)

Some tax software (like TurboTax) incorrectly requires Form 1310 for any refund claim when a taxpayer is deceased, even when a court-appointed representative is filing. If this happens, you may need to paper-file the return instead.

[Aberngi]

Problem persists in 2025 (says must file Form 1310 when that is inaccurate for court-appointed rep. and will not let you e-file).   That is really astounding that Turbotax has not fixed this issue in nearly 10 years now,  for a common situation.   Forcing paper form,  which especially in 2025,  will almost certainly result in delays and thus delay settlement of the estate. 

[brianborges]

Unbelievable. What is wrong with you Intuit? You don't read the forums? How about a class action?

[RobertB4444]

According to the IRS -

You must file Form 1310 if the description in line A, line B, or line C on the form above applies to you.

The descriptions-

A Surviving spouse requesting reissuance of a refund check received in the name of both the decedent and the surviving spouse. 

B Court-appointed or certified personal representative (defined below) claiming a refund on Form 1040-X or Form 843. If you check the box on line B, you must attach a court certificate showing your appointment, unless you have previously filed that certificate with the IRS. 

C Person, other than A or B, claiming refund for the decedent’s estate. If you check the box on line C, you must complete Part II.

Everyone described there is required to file form 1310.  Even the spouse of the deceased.  

@brianborges 

@zbxd002 

@Aberngi 

[mp444]

I just wasted 2 hours on the phone, this is still not fixed. I needed to file so I selected box c, but will now see if it will let me file an amended return with box b filled out correctly. I'll post this solution if it is successful.

[mp444]

It worked. I filed the return with Box C checked and the sub boxes checked accordingly. Then after I received notice that it was filed, I amended form 1310 and on form 1040-X I explained that I checked the wrong box on form 1310 when I originally filed. TurboTax then filed the amended return.

Do I get a prize for figuring out a way around the lazy programmers at Intuit?