IRS Form 1310, the Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer, is how you tell the IRS to send a refund owed to someone who has died to you instead of to them. You file it with the deceased person’s final Form 1040, or separately if the return has already been processed. The form is one page, but the line you check and the documents you attach decide whether the refund actually reaches you.
When You Can Skip Form 1310
Two situations do not require the form at all.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 – Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer
A surviving spouse filing an original or amended joint return with the decedent claims the refund on the return itself. Write “Deceased,” your spouse’s name, and the date of death across the top of the return, and that is enough.
A court-appointed personal representative filing the original Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, or 1040-SS also skips Form 1310, as long as a copy of the court certificate (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) is attached to the return. The refund check will then be issued to the estate.
If neither situation is yours, you need the form.
Which Line to Check in Part I
Part I offers three lines, and only one applies to any given filer. Checking the wrong one is a common reason claims come back.
Line A: Surviving Spouse Needing a Reissued Check
Line A is narrow. Use it only if the IRS already issued a refund check made payable to both you and your deceased spouse, and you need it reissued in your name alone. If you have not yet filed the return, or the refund has not been issued, Line A is not the right box.
Line B: Court-Appointed Representative on an Amended Return or Claim
Check Line B if you are the court-appointed executor or administrator and you are claiming the refund on Form 1040-X or Form 843. Attach a copy of the court certificate proving your appointment, even if you have already sent the same certificate to the IRS with an earlier filing.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 – Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer A copy of the will is not a substitute; the IRS wants the court-issued certificate itself.
Line C: Everyone Else
Check Line C if you are not a surviving spouse asking for a reissued check and no court has appointed a personal representative. This is the usual box for an adult child, parent, or other family member handling a small estate that never went through probate. Line C filers must also complete Part II and be able to produce proof of death if the IRS asks for it.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 – Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer
The Part II Questions That Decide Line C Claims
Part II is where Line C claims most often stall. It asks four things:1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 – Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer
- Did the decedent leave a will?
- Has a court appointed a personal representative for the estate?
- If no representative has been appointed, will one be?
- Will you pay out the refund according to the laws of the state where the decedent was a legal resident?
Answer “Yes” to either appointment question and the IRS will not release the refund to you. It goes to the court-appointed representative instead. Answer “No” to the state-law question and the IRS holds the refund until you either provide a court certificate or other evidence that state law entitles you to the money.
The upshot: Line C is only workable when there is no representative, there will not be one, and you are prepared to distribute the money according to state intestacy or succession rules.
Signing the Form and the Return
Every Form 1310 filer signs Part III under penalty of perjury, whatever line was checked. The signature affirms that the information is true and correct and that you are requesting the refund of taxes overpaid by or on behalf of the decedent.
The final return itself also needs a proper signature. A court-appointed representative signs the return; on a joint return the surviving spouse signs as well. A surviving spouse with no appointed representative signs and writes “Filing as surviving spouse” in the signature area. With no surviving spouse and no appointment, the person in charge of the decedent’s property signs and writes “personal representative” next to the signature.2Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 356, Decedents On a paper return, write “Deceased,” the person’s name, and the date of death across the top of the first page.3Internal Revenue Service. Filing a Final Federal Tax Return for Someone Who Has Died
How to File It
If the final return has not yet been filed, attach Form 1310 to it and follow that return’s filing instructions. Form 1310 can be e-filed when it accompanies an electronic Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, or 1040-SS.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 – Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer
If the return was already processed and you are filing Form 1310 on its own, mail it to the same IRS service center that handled the original return. If the original was e-filed, send Form 1310 to the service center for the address you list on the form. The Form 1040 instructions list the correct addresses by state.
Expect the refund to take longer than a routine one. A wait of several months is normal for deceased-taxpayer refunds, and does not by itself signal a problem.
Reissuing a Refund Check Made Out to Both Spouses
If a joint refund check has already arrived payable to you and your deceased spouse, you cannot deposit it as is. Send the IRS the original check marked “VOID,” a Form 1310 with Line A checked, and a written request to reissue the check in your name only.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 – Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer The package can go to either your local IRS office or the service center where the return was filed. The IRS will issue a new check in your name and mail it to you.
The Deadline for Claiming the Refund
The final return for a deceased person is due on the normal April deadline for the year of death. For a 2025 death, the final return covering January 1 through the date of death is due April 15, 2026, absent an extension.
A separate, harder deadline governs the refund itself. Under IRC Section 6511, a refund claim must generally be filed within three years from the date the return was filed, or two years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6511 – Limitations on Credit or Refund With no return on file, the window is two years from the date the tax was paid. Miss it and the IRS will not pay the refund no matter how clean the underlying claim is. That deadline is easy to blow through when an estate drags on and nobody gets around to the final return.