At minimum a final personal income tax return for the year of death, and an estate income tax return if the estate earns income while it is open. Whether a state estate or inheritance tax return is also due depends entirely on the state.
A final personal return (and possibly an estate income return) is due.
How: Three federal filings can apply, and they are not the same thing. The final Form 1040 covers income up to the date of death and is filed on the ordinary deadline, as if they were alive — prior years may also be outstanding. If a refund is due, it will NOT arrive on its own: file Form 1310 to claim it. Separately, the estate itself files Form 1041 for any tax year it has gross income of $600 or more. IRS Publication 559 is written for executors. A CPA experienced with estates is usually worth it — hand them Settle's reports.
Applies in 42 of the 51 jurisdictions Settle covers.
9 jurisdictions handle this their own way:
Penalties accrue against the estate if missed.
IRS, File the final income tax returns of a deceased person; Instructions for Form 1041 · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
A final personal return (and possibly an estate income return) is due; Florida has no state income tax, but federal filing still applies.
IRS, File the final income tax returns of a deceased person; Instructions for Form 1041 · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
A final personal return (and possibly an estate income return) is due; Georgia has no state estate or inheritance tax, but federal filing still applies.
IRS, File the final income tax returns of a deceased person; Instructions for Form 1041 · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
Penalties accrue if missed; a large estate may also owe Illinois estate tax above the state threshold.
IRS, File the final income tax returns of a deceased person; Instructions for Form 1041 · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
A final personal return (and possibly an estate income return) is due; Michigan has no estate or inheritance tax, but federal filing still applies.
IRS, File the final income tax returns of a deceased person; Instructions for Form 1041 · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
Penalties accrue against the estate if missed; a New York estate tax return may also be required above the state threshold.
IRS, File the final income tax returns of a deceased person; Instructions for Form 1041 · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
A final personal return (and possibly an estate income return) is due; North Carolina has no estate or inheritance tax, but federal filing still applies.
IRS, File the final income tax returns of a deceased person; Instructions for Form 1041 · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
A final personal return (and possibly an estate income return) is due; Ohio has no estate tax, but federal filing still applies.
IRS, File the final income tax returns of a deceased person; Instructions for Form 1041 · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
A final personal return (and possibly an estate income return) is due; Texas has no state income tax, but federal filing still applies.
IRS, File the final income tax returns of a deceased person; Instructions for Form 1041 · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
Settle builds this checklist into a plan you can actually work
The steps above, ordered for your situation in your state, with the deadlines on a calendar, your documents attached to the step that needs them, and an expense ledger for everything the estate owes you back. The plan itself is free.
Every figure on this page links to the statute or court source it came from and shows the date we last read it. 2 of the 51 citations on this page carry the “not yet confirmed” tag. That means we recorded the citation from a secondary source and have not yet read it against the primary statute text ourselves. We could have left those rows out and the page would look better — but it would imply the rest were checked too, which is exactly the impression nobody should be given about a court deadline.
The full registry, including everything we have not confirmed, is published at Where the state information comes from. If the court or your attorney gave you a different date, please tell us at support@vertexlabsolutions.com — it is the fastest way to get it fixed for the next executor.
This is one step out of roughly two dozen. The full sequence for your state — with the statutory deadlines, the citations behind them and the date each was last checked — is in the state executor guides.