Final Form 1040 or Form 1040-NR: What to File by April Filing Deadline

A personal representative must still file a deceased taxpayer’s last federal income tax return when the person met the usual filing requirements. The return covers income through the date of death, while later income may belong to an estate, beneficiary, or another recipient.

The filing generally follows the same rules that would have applied while the person was alive. A U.S. citizen or resident usually files Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR. A nonresident alien who would have needed Form 1040-NR generally requires that form for the last tax year.

The deadline usually does not change because of the death. For a calendar-year taxpayer who dies in 2026, the return for tax year 2026 will generally be due in April 2027, subject to ordinary weekend, holiday, and extension rules.

The person handling the estate signs and files. That may be a surviving spouse, executor, administrator, court-appointed representative, relative, or another person responsible for the decedent’s property.

The representative files the decedent’s last return separately

The IRS defines a personal representative as an executor, administrator, or anyone else in charge of the decedent’s property. That person handles the deceased individual’s income tax return and, when required, estate tax returns.

The personal representative must keep the decedent’s return separate from the estate’s income tax filing. The individual return reports the person’s income through death. The estate may later need its own return for income produced by estate assets.

A paper return should identify the death clearly. IRS guidance says to write “Deceased,” the person’s name, and the date of death across the top.

The normal filing deadline applies. IRS Publication 17 says a final return is due by the 15th day of the fourth month after the end of the decedent’s normal tax year. Most calendar-year taxpayers therefore face the regular April due date after the year of death.

If the person died during filing season before submitting an earlier return, the representative may need to file that prior-year return too. It may not be the last return if the person lived into the next tax year.

Joint filing may remain available for the year of death

A surviving spouse may file jointly with the deceased spouse for the year of death if the applicable conditions are met. The joint return can affect the standard deduction, tax rates, credits, and refund amount.

The surviving spouse’s later marriage changes the analysis. If the spouse remarries during the year of death, the decedent generally cannot file jointly with that spouse for that same tax year.

The filing status should be reviewed before the representative automatically chooses married filing separately. A surviving spouse may also be able to claim a refund through the joint return in some circumstances.

Income must be divided by when the right or payment arose

The decedent’s return generally includes income actually or constructively received before death, depending on the person’s accounting method. For a cash-method taxpayer, that can include wages paid before death, interest credited before death, and dividends made available before death.

Income received later may fall into a different reporting category. Income in respect of a decedent, commonly called IRD, is income the person had the right to receive before death but that was not properly included on the individual return.

The recipient reports IRD. It may be taxable to the estate if the estate receives it, to a beneficiary when the right passes directly to that beneficiary, or to another person who receives the right through a proper estate distribution.

Examples include traditional IRA distributions, unpaid wages or bonuses, accrued interest, retirement-plan income, installment-sale payments, certain annuities, business receivables, and other income earned before death but collected afterward.

The income’s character generally carries over. An amount that would have been ordinary income to the decedent is usually ordinary income to the person who receives it.

Inherited assets do not all receive the same basis treatment

Some property transferred because of death may receive a basis adjustment. Traditional IRAs generally do not receive that adjustment merely because they pass to a beneficiary.

That difference can affect an inherited brokerage account, real estate, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, unpaid salary, and business receivable in different ways. The tax result depends on the asset and the type of income involved.

Cross-border families must also consider how the same asset is treated in another country. U.S. reporting and home-country reporting may apply different rules.

Medical bills and losses can change the final return

Medical expenses paid before death may be deductible on the individual return when the taxpayer itemizes deductions and the applicable limits are met. Certain medical expenses paid by the estate within one year after death may instead be treated as paid by the decedent at the time incurred.

The executor must make the required election. Hospital bills, nursing care, ambulance charges, insurance-related medical bills, and other final-illness expenses may therefore require a filing decision rather than automatic treatment.

Losses also require review. Under IRS Publication 559, a decedent’s net operating loss deduction from a prior year and capital losses, including capital-loss carryovers, may be deducted only on the decedent’s last individual return. They cannot be deducted on the estate’s income tax return.

Prior-year returns should be gathered before filing. Stock-market losses, business losses, rental losses, and unused carryovers can otherwise be overlooked.

Refund claims may require Form 1310

A refund creates a separate documentation issue. The IRS says a person claiming a refund due to a deceased taxpayer may need to submit Form 1310, Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer.

The form is not required from every filer. The Form 1040 instructions provide exceptions for certain surviving spouses and court-appointed representatives, while other people seeking the refund generally must attach Form 1310 to the return.

The representative should confirm the applicable exception before filing. The wrong claimant or missing documentation can delay refund processing.

Nonresident aliens face a different individual return question

The representative must first determine the decedent’s U.S. tax status. A deceased nonresident alien who would have been required to file Form 1040-NR generally must have that form filed by the personal representative.

The issue can arise with U.S. rental income, business income, wages, investment income, or other U.S.-source income. A nonresident alien’s income-tax status does not answer the separate estate-tax question.

IRS Publication 519 explains that a person who was a nonresident noncitizen for estate and gift tax purposes may still have U.S. estate or gift tax filing and payment obligations. Income-tax residency and estate-tax residency require separate analysis.

Estate and estate-tax returns are different filings

An estate becomes a separate taxpayer after death when it earns income. If its annual gross income exceeds $600, Form 1041 may be required.

That income can include rent collected after death, interest on estate bank accounts, dividends from estate-held shares, income from business assets held by the estate, and gains from sales of estate assets. These items do not automatically belong on the decedent’s individual return.

Estate tax is a third question. Form 706 may be required for a U.S. citizen or resident when the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds the applicable filing threshold. For a nonresident noncitizen, Form 706-NA is required when the fair market value at death of U.S.-situated assets exceeds $60,000.

U.S. brokerage accounts, real estate, business interests, and other U.S.-situated assets can bring the estate-tax rules into focus for NRIs and foreign families. A filing may be required even when no federal estate tax ultimately becomes payable.

Records should cover income, authority, and cross-border assets

The representative should assemble the following records before preparing the return:

• The death certificate and prior-year tax returns
• Forms W-2 and 1099
• Bank, brokerage, and retirement-account statements
• Social Security statements
• Medical-expense records
• Property and business-income records
• State tax information
• Executor or court-appointment papers
• Refund documentation and Form 1310, if required
• An estate EIN, if an estate return is required
• Foreign tax records for cross-border income or assets

The file should reflect the decedent’s status. U.S. citizens living abroad, green card holders, NRIs with U.S. assets, and nonresident aliens with U.S. income may have different reporting paths.

Several errors recur. Families may assume death eliminates the filing requirement, place post-death income on the individual return, ignore IRD, claim a refund without the required paperwork, miss loss carryovers, overlook Form 1041, or treat a nonresident alien case like a resident case.

Traditional IRA income, unpaid compensation, and similar items also should not be treated as though every inherited asset received a basis adjustment. The timing of receipt and the person entitled to the income determine the reporting bucket.

A decedent’s last return closes the individual’s income-tax period, but it may begin several other compliance tasks. Representatives must track the date of death, the normal due date, the recipient of later income, and any U.S.-situated property before selecting Form 1040, Form 1041, Form 706, or Form 706-NA.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. Consult a qualified tax professional or CPA about your specific situation.