What we prepare
We prepare Form 1041 (Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts) along with the Schedule K-1s to each beneficiary, and we handle the final individual return for a decedent when that coincides with the estate filing.
Common situations
Most of our trust and estate work falls into one of these categories:
- Revocable living trusts that became irrevocable on death
- Testamentary trusts funded by a will
- Estates in the year of death and the following year
- Inherited IRAs and the 10-year distribution rule under SECURE
- Real property sales by the estate or trust
Have a specific situation?
Call the office and a human answers.
Working with attorneys
Most estate and trust work runs alongside an attorney handling the probate or trust administration. We coordinate directly with them so the accounting, tax, and legal work stay aligned.
Common questions
- Does every trust have to file a return?
- Not always. Revocable living trusts typically don't file their own return while the grantor is alive. Once the trust becomes irrevocable, or at any time an irrevocable trust has gross income of $600 or more, a 1041 is required.
- What's the deadline for an estate return?
- Form 1041 is due April 15 for calendar-year filers, with an extension available to September 30. Estates can also elect a fiscal year ending in any month.
- Do beneficiaries pay the tax or does the trust?
- Depends on whether income is distributed. Distributed income flows through to beneficiaries on K-1s and they pay at their individual rates. Retained income stays with the trust at the compressed trust rates.