What it is
The returns that follow a death, a trust or a large gift. An estate or trust is its own taxpayer, with its own return; estate and gift tax are separate federal taxes with their own forms; and an inheritance from family abroad brings its own reporting. California has no estate, inheritance or gift tax, but an estate or trust may still owe a California income tax return (Form 541).
Who needs it
- An executor or administrator handling the estate of someone who has died
- A trustee of a family or living trust that has income
- Someone who gave a gift during the year that must be reported on Form 709
- A surviving spouse who may want to keep the unused part of the estate tax exclusion (portability), which needs a Form 706 even if the estate owes no tax
- A U.S. person who received an inheritance or gift from family abroad
What we do
- The final individual return for the person who died
- Estate and trust income tax returns: federal Form 1041 and California Form 541
- Federal estate tax returns (Form 706), including a return filed only to elect portability
- Gift tax returns (Form 709)
- Form 3520 for inheritances and gifts from abroad, and the U.S. side of a foreign estate
What to bring
- The death certificate, and the will or trust document
- The person's last two years of tax returns
- Statements for every account and property, with values at the date of death
- For a gift: what was given, to whom, the date and its value
- For an inheritance from abroad: the documents from the foreign estate, in any language
What happens next
Deadlines run from the date of death, and an estate's tax year can be chosen to help, so it is worth talking early, before assets are moved or sold.
