You do not need to call or write the IRS to notify it of a death. The Social Security Administration shares mortality data with the IRS automatically once a funeral director reports the death on Form SSA-721.1Social Security Administration. Statement of Death By Funeral Director What the personal representative actually has to do is different: prove legal authority to act for the deceased using Form 56, get a tax ID number for the estate, and file whichever returns the death triggers. This is the practical answer to how to notify the IRS of a death, and everything below walks through each step in the order you will need it.
The automatic SSA feed stops routine notices and refund checks from going out to the deceased, but that is all it does. It does not let anyone access the deceased’s tax records, sign a return on their behalf, or claim a refund. Those actions require you to establish authority separately.
File Form 56 to Establish Your Authority
Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship, is what tells the IRS who you are and when your authority began.2Internal Revenue Service. About Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship It can be filed by an executor named in the will, an administrator appointed by a probate court, or any other court-appointed personal representative. You identify the type of fiduciary relationship and the date it was created, and you attach proof: letters testamentary if there was a will, or a court certificate if the court appointed you for an intestate estate.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56
For small estates where no court appointment was made, the instructions let you check a box indicating you are the sole person responsible for the deceased’s property. Be ready to prove that authority if the IRS asks.
Mail the form to the IRS service center where the deceased would have filed their individual return.4Internal Revenue Service. Where to File – Forms Beginning With the Number 5 File it as soon as you have your court appointment, before attempting to file any returns. Without Form 56 on record, IRS notices will keep going to the deceased’s last known address and you can miss deadlines you never saw.
One exception. A surviving spouse filing a joint return with the deceased does not need Form 56 for that filing alone. If no personal representative has been appointed, the surviving spouse signs the return and writes “Filing as surviving spouse” in the signature area.5Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 356, Decedents If that same spouse is also the court-appointed executor of the broader estate, Form 56 is still needed for the fiduciary role.
Get an EIN for the Estate
The decedent’s estate is a separate taxpayer, and it needs its own Employer Identification Number. You cannot use the deceased’s Social Security number for estate business. The EIN is required to open an estate bank account, file the estate’s income tax return, and handle other financial transactions during administration.
Apply on Form SS-4 as the estate’s fiduciary. Online is fastest if you are in the United States: the EIN is issued immediately. Fax typically takes about four business days, mail about four weeks.6Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 You’ll list the estate’s legal name (the decedent’s name followed by “Estate” if there is no formal legal name), your own name and taxpayer identification number as the responsible party, the date of death, and the decedent’s Social Security number.7Internal Revenue Service. Information for Executors
File the Final Form 1040
The deceased’s final income tax return covers January 1 through the date of death, or the full year if the person died in December. It is filed on Form 1040 and follows the same rules that would apply if the person were still alive, reporting all income actually received before death.8Internal Revenue Service. Filing a Final Federal Tax Return for Someone Who Has Died
The return is due April 15 of the year after death, shifted to the next business day if April 15 falls on a weekend or holiday. Form 4868 gets you an automatic six-month extension to file, but not to pay: any estimated tax owed is still due by the original April deadline.9Internal Revenue Service. Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
Joint Returns and Surviving Spouse Status
If the deceased was married, the surviving spouse and personal representative can elect to file a joint return for the year of death, which usually produces a better result because joint brackets are wider. Where there is a court-appointed personal representative, both that representative and the surviving spouse must sign. Where there is none, the surviving spouse signs alone and writes “Filing as surviving spouse” next to the signature.5Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 356, Decedents
For the two years after the year of death, a surviving spouse who has not remarried and has a dependent child may file as a Qualifying Surviving Spouse, the current IRS name for the older “Qualifying Widow(er)” status. This keeps the joint-return tax rates in place through the transition.10Internal Revenue Service. Filing Status
Claiming a Refund on the Final Return
How you claim a refund depends on your role. A court-appointed personal representative who attaches a copy of their court certificate to the return needs nothing else; the refund will be issued to the representative. A surviving spouse filing a joint return also needs no extra paperwork. In any other situation, the person claiming the refund must attach Form 1310, Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer.11Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 (Rev. December 2025) Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer
File Form 1041 If the Estate Earns Income
Income earned after the date of death does not belong on the final Form 1040. It belongs to the estate, or to beneficiaries if assets passed directly to them. If the estate itself earns $600 or more in gross income during any tax year, the personal representative must file Form 1041, the income tax return for estates and trusts.12Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 Interest on bank accounts, rental income, and dividends received between the date of death and the date assets are distributed to beneficiaries are the usual sources.
An estate can choose either a calendar year or a fiscal year, one of the few planning opportunities available. If the person died in March, a fiscal year ending in January would push the first filing deadline well past the following April. Whichever year you pick, the return is due by the 15th day of the fourth month after the close of that tax year.13Internal Revenue Service. Forms 1041 and 1041-A: When to File The estate uses the EIN you obtained earlier, and income that flows through to beneficiaries is reported to them on Schedule K-1.
Form 706 and the Federal Estate Tax
Federal estate tax is separate from income tax. It applies to the total value of the deceased’s assets at death and is reported on Form 706.14Internal Revenue Service. About Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return Most estates never owe it because the exemption is large.
For deaths in 2026, Form 706 must be filed only if the gross estate exceeds $15,000,000. That figure comes from the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, which raised the basic exclusion amount for 2026.15Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax The gross estate includes real estate, investments, retirement accounts, business interests, and life insurance proceeds. Form 706 is due nine months after the date of death, with an automatic six-month extension available on Form 4768; the extension covers only filing, and estimated tax is still due at nine months.16Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return
Even when no tax is owed, filing Form 706 can still be worth it. Portability lets a surviving spouse inherit the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount, but only if the executor files Form 706 and makes the election. Without a filing, the unused exclusion disappears.
Protect Yourself Before Distributing Assets
An executor who distributes estate assets before all tax debts are settled can become personally liable for the unpaid taxes. Two IRS procedures exist specifically to reduce that risk.
Form 4810, Request for Prompt Assessment, shortens the normal three-year assessment period to 18 months for the deceased’s income and gift tax returns.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6501 – Limitations on Assessment and Collection File it after the corresponding return has been filed, and include details about your authority, the type of tax, and where the return was submitted.18Internal Revenue Service. Form 4810 – Request for Prompt Assessment Under Internal Revenue Code Section 6501(d) Once the 18 months pass without IRS action, you can distribute remaining assets with much less exposure.
For estate tax, the executor can request a formal discharge from personal liability under IRC section 2204. After a written application, the IRS has nine months to determine the amount owed; once the executor pays that amount, they receive a written discharge and are no longer personally liable for later-discovered deficiencies.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 2204 – Discharge of Fiduciary From Personal Liability A parallel process exists for income and gift tax under IRC section 6905: the executor files a written request after the returns are in, and if the IRS does not respond within nine months, the executor is automatically discharged for those taxes.20Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6905 – Discharge of Executor From Personal Liability for Decedent’s Income and Gift Taxes Both requests can be made using Form 5495.
If Someone Files a Fraudulent Return in the Deceased’s Name
Deceased individuals are common identity theft targets because their Social Security numbers stay active in various databases long after death. If a fraudulent return has been filed using the deceased’s information, submit Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit.21Internal Revenue Service. Form 14039 (Rev. 2-2026) Identity Theft Affidavit The form has a specific section for deceased taxpayers. A surviving spouse can submit it without extra documentation. A court-appointed personal representative attaches a copy of the court certificate. Other family members attach a copy of the death certificate and indicate their relationship to the deceased. Filing flags the account and prompts the IRS to investigate.