Who claims a deceased person's tax refund?

When a refund needs a return at all

A person who died may not have owed a return, but may still be owed money. Publication 559 says a return must be filed to obtain a refund if tax was withheld from salaries, wages, pensions or annuities, or if estimated tax was paid, even if a return is not otherwise required. The decedent may also be entitled to credits that result in a refund. The withholding and estimated payments are credits that must be claimed on the final return. So the first question is simply whether a return gets filed for the period; if it does, the refund rides on it.

Who is allowed to claim

The publication names two situations in which Form 1310 is not needed. The first is a surviving spouse filing an original or amended joint return with the decedent. The second is a court-appointed or certified personal representative filing the decedent's original return with a copy of the court certificate showing the appointment attached to the return. Example from the publication: E. Green died before filing. You were appointed personal representative and file the Form 1040 showing a refund. With the court certificate attached to the return, you do not need Form 1310.

Everyone else entitled to the refund files Form 1310. Think of an heir or relative who is claiming the money without a court appointment. The checker above runs through the decision using four checkboxes.

The amended-return exception

One rule is easy to miss. If the personal representative is claiming a refund on Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, or on Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement, the representative must attach a court certificate showing the appointment to Form 1310, even if the certificate was already filed with the IRS earlier. So the escape from Form 1310 applies only to an original return; on an amended claim the form and certificate go together.

If the check is in both names

A surviving spouse who receives a refund check made out to both spouses can have it reissued in the survivor's name alone. Return the joint-name check marked VOID with Form 1310 to the local IRS office or the service center where the return was mailed, with a written request for reissuance. A new check will then be issued in the survivor's name.

Claims for earlier years

If a prior-year tax was paid and the time to claim has not run out, a claim for credit or refund is possible. The normal period is three years after the return was filed or two years after the tax was paid, whichever is later. If a return has not been filed, you claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated payments by filing Form 1040 or 1040-SR, with Form W-2 attached. If a return has been filed, use Form 1040-X, with a separate form for each year in question. There are extended periods and special tax forgiveness rules for deaths in a combat zone or from wounds, disease or injury incurred there, and for certain other cases such as astronauts and specified terrorist victims; the publication describes each. For the combat zone case the claim period is extended by the time served in the combat zone, any missing-in-action period, continuous qualified hospitalization, and the next 180 days.

Working through the four cases

Walk through the checker with four real-world setups. First, a husband dies in March and his widow files a joint return for the year of death showing a refund: she is the surviving spouse on a joint return, so no Form 1310. Second, a daughter is appointed administrator by the court and files the father's original Form 1040 with the court certificate attached: no Form 1310. Third, the same daughter later discovers an earlier year was overpaid and files Form 1040-X: Form 1310 is needed, with the court certificate attached to it. Fourth, a brother with no court appointment wants the refund for a sibling's estate: he files Form 1310 with the return. In each case the underlying rule is the same, which is that the IRS wants proof of who is entitled to the money before it pays a person who is not the taxpayer.

What not to send

When filing the decedent's final income tax return, do not attach the death certificate or other proof of death. Keep it for your records and provide it if requested. The court certificate for a personal representative is the item that goes with the return or Form 1310, not the death certificate.

Sources

• IRS Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators (2025): Final Income Tax Return for Decedent, Filing Requirements (Refund, Form 1310, Death certificate); Credits, Other Taxes, and Payments (Payments of Tax, Claim for Credit or Refund). 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.