Father passed 3/18/18 with no assets and only an IRA for which I was the beneficiary. There was no formal estate created. How do I file his taxes. Please read details..

[Retired In Florida]

My father passed away March 18, 2018.  He had no assets at all so no estate was created or probate.   His small condo apartment went into foreclosure because it was a reverse mortgage and there was no equity and therefore I did not want it.  His only "income" was 2 months of Social Security and 2 reverse mortgage payments to him.

He did have an IRA of which I was the full beneficiary and got the funds in May of 2018.  I understand I have to take his RMD for 2018 at his age (91) on my taxes.

My questions are:

Do I need to file a final tax return for him and mark it as deceased?  The IRS obviously knows he passed since is Social Security immediately stopped (The Funeral Parlor notified them)..

Do I need to report his IRA on HIS tax return in any way even though I was the beneficiary and I took the RMD for 2018?

Anything else I need to do?  Since he had nothing and I was beneficiary on the IRA I didn't see any need to create a formal estate or probate.  If it matters we both reside in Florida.

[ScruffyCurmudgeon]

Assuming that he had no income other than Social Security and that he took no distribution during his life, in 2018, from the IRA, there is no need to file a personal Form 1040.  If his Estate, after he died, also had no income and took no distribution from the IRA, there is no requirement to file Form 1041 Estate Return.

The requirement to file an income tax return, 1040 or 1041, occurs when more than $600 of income has been received in a tax year.  The mere owning of the IRA, without taking a distribution, does not require a filing.  However, make sure that you check with the IRA trustee, where the  IRA was held, to be certain that the Form 1099-R will only show a transfer to a beneficiary and not a distribution to your father before or after death.

[TaxGuyBill]

I would still file a final 1040 to report the death and prevent any future tax related Identity Theft.

Just because the Social Security Administration knows he died, does not necessarily mean the IRS knows he died.

[ScruffyCurmudgeon]

Given the occurrence of false identity tax fraud, it would be wise to send to the IRS a copy of the Death Certificate to ensure that the IRS closes the SSN tax account.  The IRS recommends this:
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/deceased-taxpayers-protecting-the-dece...>

[dmertz]

The distribution of his year-of-death RMD paid to you will be reported to you on a code 4 Form 1099-R in your name, reportable on your tax return, not on his tax return.  No Form 1099-R will be issued for the transfer of his IRA to an inherited IRA for your benefit since the IRA can only be moved by non-reportable trustee-to-trustee transfer.

[jlarocca]

I have the same situation with my mother.  In this case, when filling out the final tax return, what do I put on the 1040 for IRA withdrawals?  Do I put 0?  Do I put the RMD?  Will the IRS know that we withdrew the money from our inherited IRAs?