Are you a U.S. taxpayer who is struggling to file the annual income tax return on time? If yes then by now you must have realized that Tax Season is one of the most crucial phases. You have to complete all the pending tax forms and file them before the given deadline. At this time, it is not an uncommon thing for you to find yourself in a state of confusion. This is the time when you have a lot of things to do. In the process, you must have come across the ‘IRS Form 1310’. It is one of the important forms that you need to fill out before the financial year ends. Now you must be wondering what is IRS form 1310. No worries, as you will be getting the answers to all your questions here.

What is this form?

A U.S. taxpayer has to fill out the Form 1310 IRS when one of his/her family members passes away in the middle of the financial year. This form is filed to claim the federal tax refund of the deceased. The designated executor of the estate has the first right to claim this federal tax refund. But there can be a case when the deceased person has not named anyone as the executor. If this is the case then the responsibility gets passed on to a survivor of the deceased taxpayer. In most of the cases, the living spouse of the deceased taxpayer fills out this form and claims the refund.

You May Also Read: IRS Form 9465?

Who Can File this form?

Generally, the living spouse of the taxpayer who passed away fills out the IRS Form 1310. Or if there is an already-named executor of the estate then he/she the right to file this form. In order to become the executor of the estate, an individual needs to be named in the will made by the deceased taxpayer. If the person left no will then a probate court gets to make the decision to name the person who can take up the role.

And then the court will use a hierarchy of individuals to make the decision and select the executor. First of all, the living spouse of the deceased taxpayer gets the preference if there is any after that other close relatives. If there are none of them then the court will start considering distant relatives and others.

How to Fill Out This Form?

If there is a personal representative or a designated executor who is filing the complete tax return on the behalf of the taxpayer who passed away then he/she will also have to fill out Form 1040 and attach it with the IRS Form 1310 while sending the IRS. This is how they can get the refund payment initiated.

The administrator has the complete responsibility for filing all the tax forms and paying all the owed taxes of the deceased person. If the estate has an income of $600 or more in one financial year then as an executor, you will have to fill out the IRS Form 1041 along with the IRS Form 1310.

And one important thing is, the refund will be issued in the name of the estate instead of any individual. For more convenience, you also have an option to make a request for a physical check instead of an electronic refund. There can be cases when the bank will require special authorization for sending money to an account that has a different name. It happens with some specific banks.

When you fill out this form, you will have to answer questions about the taxpayer’s status and the legal documentation of your appointment as an executor. You will also have to explain your role and justify the refund claim.

Although there is no need to submit a death certificate. This is the case when you are claiming the refund on the behalf of your deceased spouse and you are requesting a check with the names of both spouses. But if you are making the claim as an executor then you have to submit either your court certificate or the person’s death certificate.

Instructions:

Here are all the important IRS Form 1310 instructions.

• In the first step, you have to indicate that the taxpayer is not alive anymore on whose behalf you are claiming the refund.
• Now you have to provide some personal information.
  • Name
  • Address
  • Deceased: Select this for the deceased individual.
• After this, you have to mention the date of death. This date needs to be in the same year for which you are filing the tax return.
• If you are filing the return as a married filing jointly then you will have to answer. Whether you are filing the return on the behalf of your deceased spouse. Answer that appropriately.
• Now select miscellaneous forms.
• Here you have to provide the information about the individual who is filing the tax return on the behalf of the deceased taxpayer.
• This information includes name, address, and the Social Security Number of the person who is filing the tax return.
• Then you have to provide all other required information in the remaining sections of the IRS Form 1310.

You have to fill out this form on paper and then send it to the IRS. You cannot fill out this form electronically. If you are wondering where to mail IRS form 1310 then here is the answer. You can send it to the same IRS Center where you have filed the original return.

You Can Also Read About: IRS Form 1310?

Wrapping Up!

If your spouse or any other close family member passed away in the middle of the financial year then you will have to handle the finances on his/her behalf. As in this case, the chances are there that he/she has left some pending claims for the federal tax refund. In order to claim those pending tax refunds, you will have to fill out the IRS Form 1310.

In most of the cases, when a tax-paying individual passes away, he/she leaves a will in which the executor of the estate is named. If there is any designated executor named in the will then he/she will take care of everything related to the deceased person’s finances. Or if not then one of the close relatives including spouse, children, parents, siblings, etc. will take up the financial responsibilities.

The IRS 1310 form is a complex form so most of people consider taking some help from an expert tax professional to fill this out. But there are some people who choose to do it on their own. If you have also chosen to handle these things on your own then at some point, you might start feeling confused. For your convenience, we have explained every aspect of this form in great detail. Here we have included everything that you might want to know about the 1310 IRS Form.

It is not a rare thing to feel exhausted in such a scenario. In these cases, it is better that you take some advanced help from our team at Accounts Confidant today! We have a team of skilled tax experts who will assist you with any possible queries that you might have. All you have to do is, give a call on +1-888-660-0575 We are available 24×7.