Who Files a Deceased Person’s Final Tax Return in California?

Short answer: The personal representative — or the surviving spouse — files the decedent’s final Form 1040, covering January 1 through the date of death, with “deceased,” the name, and the date of death written across the top. The filing thresholds are the same as for a living person, and a surviving spouse can still file jointly for the year of death. Separately, the estate may need its own income tax returns: federal Form 1041 if the estate earns $600 or more after death, and California Form 541. The federal estate tax return (Form 706) is a third, entirely different return that only matters above $15 million.

Figures verified against IRS Topic 356, IRC §6012(a)(3), and FTB Form 541 instructions, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice for your situation.

Three different returns — don’t mix them up

When someone dies, up to three separate tax filings can come into play, and families routinely confuse them:

• The final personal return (Form 1040 / CA 540): the decedent’s last income tax return, for income earned while alive that year.
• The estate’s income tax return (Form 1041 / CA 541): for income the assets earn after death — interest, dividends, rent, gains — while the estate or trust is being settled.
• The estate tax return (Form 706): a tax on the value of what the person owned, not on income. With the federal exemption at $15 million per person (permanent under the 2025 tax law) and California having no state estate tax at all, the vast majority of families never file one.

If you take one thing from this page: “final tax return” and “estate tax” are not the same thing, and needing the first says nothing about owing the second.

Who files the final 1040 — and how

The personal representative files it — the executor, the administrator, or, if there’s no court-appointed representative, typically the surviving spouse or the person handling the property. Whoever signs is signing in a fiduciary capacity, not adopting the decedent’s tax bill personally.

The mechanics, per IRS Topic 356:

• Filing thresholds are the same as for a living taxpayer. A retired Camarillo widow with $16,000 of Social Security and nothing else may not need a final return at all. Someone who died in November with a full year of wages and dividends almost certainly does.
• Write “deceased,” the decedent’s name, and the date of death across the top of the return.
• The return covers January 1 through the date of death. Income after that belongs to the estate or trust, not the final 1040.
• A surviving spouse may file a joint return for the year of death — usually the better math, since joint brackets apply to the whole year.

California’s final Form 540 follows the same basic pattern.

Form 1310: getting the refund out of the IRS

If the final return shows a refund, the IRS wants to know the person claiming it is entitled to it. That’s Form 1310 — with two big exceptions where you can skip it:

• A surviving spouse filing a joint return doesn’t need Form 1310.
• A court-appointed personal representative doesn’t need it either, as long as the court certificate showing the appointment is attached to the return.

Everyone else — an adult child collecting a parent’s refund through a small-estate procedure, for example — files Form 1310 with the return. Skip it and the refund sits in limbo for months.

The estate’s own income return: 1041 and 541

After death, the assets keep earning. A brokerage account pays dividends. A Ventura rental collects rent. A house sells for more than its date-of-death value. That post-death income lands on the estate’s return, not the decedent’s.

• Federal Form 1041 is required if the estate’s gross income is $600 or more after death, or if any beneficiary is a nonresident alien (IRC §6012(a)(3)). The estate needs its own EIN — never use the decedent’s Social Security number for post-death income.
• California Form 541 has its own thresholds: an estate files if gross income is over $10,000 or net income is over $1,000; a trust files if gross income is over $10,000 or net income is over $100.

If the assets were in a living trust rather than a probate estate, the same idea applies — the trust becomes a separate taxpayer at death and may need its own 1041 and 541. Here’s how trust tax returns work in more detail.

This is CPA territory — and that’s fine

Preparing fiduciary income tax returns is accountant work, not lawyer work. Eric doesn’t prepare 1041s, and you shouldn’t want your lawyer to. What Eric does in a trust administration or probate is coordinate: identify which returns are needed, get date-of-death valuations documented, keep the estate’s legal deadlines and the tax deadlines from colliding, and hand your CPA a clean file. If you don’t have a CPA who handles fiduciary returns, Eric will refer you to one — for free. That division of labor is normal and it’s how it should work.

Questions people actually ask

Who signs a deceased person’s tax return?

The court-appointed personal representative signs if there is one. If not, the surviving spouse signs a joint return, noting they’re filing as surviving spouse. If there’s no representative and no spouse, the person in charge of the decedent’s property signs. Either way, you sign in your capacity as the filer — you don’t become personally liable for the decedent’s tax by signing.

Do I need Form 1310 to get my deceased parent’s tax refund?

Usually yes. Form 1310 is required to claim a decedent’s refund unless you’re a surviving spouse filing jointly or a court-appointed representative attaching the court certificate. An adult child with no probate appointment falls into the “yes” category almost every time.

Is there a deadline for the final tax return?

The normal one: the final 1040 is due the same April 15 that would have applied had the person lived, with the usual extensions available. Death doesn’t accelerate the deadline — and it doesn’t excuse it either.

Does the estate need its own tax ID number?

Yes, if it has any post-death income to report. The estate (or a trust that became irrevocable at death) gets its own EIN from the IRS — free, online, about ten minutes. Banks and brokerages will ask for it before they’ll open an estate account.

Does California have an estate tax or inheritance tax?

No and no. California has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. The only estate tax in play is federal, and it doesn’t apply unless the estate exceeds $15 million per person ($30 million for a married couple using portability). Income earned by the estate is a separate question — that’s what the 1041 and 541 cover.

What happens if nobody files the final return?

The IRS and FTB don’t forget. Unfiled returns generate notices, penalties, and interest against the estate, and a personal representative who distributes everything while taxes are unpaid can end up personally responsible for the shortfall. File the returns, or confirm none is required, before final distribution.

The bottom line

Someone has to file the year-of-death returns: the final 1040 for income earned while alive (same thresholds as ever, “deceased” across the top, spouse can file jointly), Form 1310 if a refund is coming and you’re not the spouse or a court-appointed rep, and a Form 1041 plus California 541 if the estate itself earns income afterward. Estate tax is a different subject entirely and, below $15 million, a non-issue. Have a CPA prepare the returns — and if you’re administering a trust or estate and want the legal and tax pieces coordinated instead of colliding, talk to Eric.

Sources: IRS Topic 356 (final return of a decedent; “deceased” notation; surviving-spouse joint filing); Form 1310 requirements (exceptions for surviving spouse filing jointly and court-appointed representative with certificate); IRC §6012(a)(3) (Form 1041 required at $600 estate gross income); FTB Form 541 instructions (estate: gross > $10,000 or net > $1,000; trust: gross > $10,000 or net > $100); IRC §2010(c) as amended by P.L. 119-21 (OBBBA, $15M exemption, permanent).