When is a final tax return due?

Most final individual income tax returns for deceased relatives are due on April 15th unless they used a fiscal year. The final tax return will include income earned from January 1st through their date of death. Social security will learn that someone has died when the death certificate is created. The remaining sources of income will need to be told that someone has passed away.

Income earned after death by the deceased, if it exceeds $600, will require an estate income tax return, which can be due on the same April 15th as the individual income tax return. In that case, you would report income earned from the date of death through December 31st. For extra filing time, when applying for the estate EIN, you could create a fiscal year for the estate that starts on the day of death. The fiscal year estate income tax return, for anyone dying outside of January, would be due after April 15th, which gives you more time to gather documents and information.

Transferring income-producing property (or accounts) from the deceased's name to an estate (or account) beneficiary will eliminate the need to report that income on an estate income tax return.