What tax duties does an executor have?

Who counts as a personal representative

Publication 559 defines a personal representative as an executor, an administrator or anyone in charge of the decedent's property. An executor is generally named in the will. An administrator is usually appointed by a court if there is no will, no executor was named, or the named executor cannot or will not serve. The publication says executors and administrators generally perform the same duties and have the same responsibilities. For estate tax purposes, if no one has been appointed, qualified and acting in the United States, the term executor includes anyone in actual or constructive possession of the decedent's property, such as agents, safe-deposit companies and brokers holding securities as collateral.

The primary duties are to collect the decedent's assets, pay the creditors and distribute what remains to the heirs or beneficiaries. The tax duties sit on top of those.

Step one: the EIN

The first action the publication tells a personal representative to take is to apply for an EIN for the estate, as soon as possible, because it goes on returns, statements and other documents and has to be given to payers of interest and dividends. You can apply online at IRS.gov/EIN and generally receive the number immediately, or use Form SS-4, which by mail takes about four weeks. After death, Forms 1099 must use the identification number of the estate or the beneficiary entitled to the income. If interest is payable to a surviving joint owner, the survivor's number is used instead. Payers may send a Form W-9 to confirm. Do not use the decedent's number to file a tax return after the final return, and do not use it to make estimated tax payments for a year after the year of death.

Step two: Form 56

A fiduciary must give the IRS written notice of the appointment. Form 56 is used for this, filed as soon as the necessary information, including the EIN, is available. It tells the IRS that you are assuming the powers, rights, duties and privileges of the decedent, and stays in effect until you file another Form 56 ending the relationship. File one again when the relationship ends or a successor fiduciary is appointed while the estate is still open.

Step three: file and pay

The returns an executor files include the decedent's final Form 1040 (and any unfiled earlier returns), the estate's Form 1041 where required, and estate or gift tax returns such as Forms 706 and 709. Table A in the publication is a checklist of forms and due dates. The representative must pay the tax determined up to the date of discharge. There is a penalty for failing to file when due unless the failure is due to reasonable cause, and the publication states that reliance on an agent such as an attorney or accountant is not reasonable cause. Leaving out an EIN or other required taxpayer identification number carries a separate per-failure penalty unless reasonable cause is shown.

Closing out: Forms 4810 and 5495

Two forms help wind up. The IRS ordinarily has three years from the date a return is filed, or its due date if later, to assess more tax. A personal representative can file Form 4810, Request for Prompt Assessment, to cut that to 18 months from the date the IRS receives the written request. It can be made for any return of the decedent or the estate except the estate tax return, and it must be filed separately from other documents. It does not shorten the period if substantial income (more than 25 percent of the gross income reported) went unreported or the return was fraudulent, although it can still relieve a representative who did not know of the unpaid tax.

Form 5495 requests discharge from personal liability for the decedent's income, gift and estate taxes, made after those returns are filed. The IRS notifies the executor of the amount due within nine months of receiving the request; if it pays, the executor is discharged from later deficiencies, and if the IRS does not reply within the nine months the executor is discharged. Even then the IRS can still assess deficiencies against the executor to the extent the executor still holds the decedent's property. The calculator above gives both dates from the day the IRS receives your request.

Insolvent estates and fees

If the estate cannot pay all debts, debts due to the United States, including the decedent's income tax liabilities at death and the estate's own income tax, must be paid first. The representative of an insolvent estate is personally responsible for the decedent's or estate's tax liability if the representative had notice of it or failed to use due care in determining whether it existed before distributing assets and before discharge. Liabilities need not be formally assessed to count. Fees paid to a personal representative are income. If you are not in the business of being an executor, report them on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z; if you are, report them as self-employment income on Schedule C. Fees tied to actively running the estate's business are self-employment income on Schedule C.

Sources

• IRS Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators (2025): Personal Representative (Duties, Penalty, Identification number, Notice of fiduciary relationship, Form 56, Termination, Request for prompt assessment, Form 4810, Request for discharge from personal liability, Insolvent estate); Fees Received by Personal Representatives; Table A. Read November 2, 2026.

Edition read: Publication 559 (2025), for use in preparing 2025 returns. Dollar limits and dates in this publication are for 2025; check the current publication and form instructions for your tax year. This page summarizes the publication and does not replace it.