My father passed away in August 2019. Since January 2020 I have been trying to get his taxes finalized.

Cuz COVID, they say a face to face meeting won’t happen. Each of the five I’ve talked to (after being on hold for well over an hour each time) has given me different instructions. Today number six calls and tells me I have to refax everything I’ve already faxed twice. This time I have to include a government issued photo ID.
The guy has been dead for a year and a half. He hasn’t had a “government issued photo ID” since we took his drivers license away 15 years ago. When I explained that, her response was they can’t move forward without it.

There is a small refund involved. Maybe the a-holes will apply it to the national debt.

UPDATE: I guess I finally faxed, mailed, and otherwise conveyed enough information for the IRS to determine my father was an actual person. I received another letter! This one informs me there will be a delay while they attempt to verify his income. He only had two sources: military retirement and state retirement. How hard could it be??

Still wondering if I'll live long enough to see this resolved.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tn226,

very sorry for your loss.

But wondering why does it matter if taxes are filed at this point. I see you mentioned a small refund. Is that what's at stake? if it's small, why not just ignore it, and not bother with it?

"Hey you know, fuck you guys. He's at [insert cemetery or location where ashes were spread]. Don't worry, he's not going anywhere and waiting."

Unless you really want/ need the return

My condolences on the death of your father. Are you acting as the executor of his estate? Usually, if you can provide copies of the death certificate, letters testamentary, and a certified copy of his will naming you as executor, you should be able to get some results. I’ve been executor of both of my parents’ estates and also that of my brother-in-law. I don’t recall the IRS demanding a photo ID of the deceased. If they keep stonewalling you, it might be a good idea to talk to a tax attorney about the situation. The covid hysteria has caused government offices of all types to shut down so as to hold the public at arm’s length. Hang in there.

quote:

Originally posted by roustabout:
My condolences on the death of your father. Are you acting as the executor of his estate? Usually, if you can provide copies of the death certificate, letters testamentary, and a certified copy of his will naming you as executor, you should be able to get some results. I’ve been executor of both of my parents’ estates and also that of my brother-in-law. I don’t recall the IRS demanding a photo ID of the deceased. If they keep stonewalling you, it might be a good idea to talk to a tax attorney about the situation. The covid hysteria has caused government offices of all types to shut down so as to hold the public at arm’s length. Hang in there.

Thank you all.

Copies of those documents have been sent more than once. I’m thinking I’ll just send a picture of the headstone and forget it. In retrospect, I probably should not have filed anything and just let it be.

They can’t let the passed away poor soul Rest In Peace. The tax man has no heart. They want you to jump through the hoops to get that refund. Bastards.

Tn226 sorry for your loss. My father died January of 2020. I am still waiting for his refund.
Finally got thru to someone last week after trying to find a way to contacting the IRS for 6 months.
The person who helped me told me the IRS had screwed up something and then just let it sit. She refiled the paperwork in their system and told me it may be up to 16 weeks to get the refund.
The refund isn't large and if it doesn't show up I think I may just say screw it, its not worth the trouble.
Again very sorry for your loss, hope it all works out.

Go to IRS.gov, search for form 911. File it with the Taxpayer Advocates office. Generally they are pretty good about cutting through the red tape.

quote:

Originally posted by Tn226:

I’m thinking I’ll just send a picture of the headstone

I was going to post exactly that, then I saw that you had already written it. I think that you should do it.

My condolences on the loss of your father.

I've been filing taxes for my parents for a while via Turbo Tax.

When the last of them died, I just continued filing for them. Waited for the refund to be deposited. Then I closed out the account. This is too late for your but maybe it will help others.

In the program itself, one of the questions is: "Did [insert name] die in the past year?" And that was that.

My father died April 11 2020.

My brother is the executor and is planning to file his final tax return.

He didn’t have much, past few years average about a $1400 return. For 3 1/2 months of 2020, I am guessing $350-$400 at most.

My thought is it really isn’t worth the hassle, curious what’s the worst that can happen if nobody files anything?

When my father passed away, I did Mom's and his taxes for the next year and didn't have any problems at all.

Maybe things have changed.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
My father died April 11 2020.

My brother is the executor and is planning to file his final tax return.

He didn’t have much, past few years average about a $1400 return. For 3 1/2 months of 2020, I am guessing $350-$400 at most.

My thought is it really isn’t worth the hassle, curious what’s the worst that can happen if nobody files anything?

If there is no estate for them to complicate , I would let it go . Although , if your brother is named as Executor , he may have a legal obligation to see that the taxes are filed . That's a question for the Attorney .

^^^^^^^^^
Never let something like this go with the IRS. Keep copies of all correspondence and use a CPA if needed. Take your time just be dilligent.


My thought is it really isn’t worth the hassle, curious what’s the worst that can happen if nobody files anything?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You do not want to know. Believe me. When Nixon hated people he would involve the IRS to look into their affairs. Sending pics of gravestones would be treated poorly by these folks.

quote:

Originally posted by McGregor:
Tn226 sorry for your loss. My father died January of 2020. I am still waiting for his refund.
Finally got thru to someone last week after trying to find a way to contacting the IRS for 6 months.
The person who helped me told me the IRS had screwed up something and then just let it sit. She refiled the paperwork in their system and told me it may be up to 16 weeks to get the refund.
The refund isn't large and if it doesn't show up I think I may just say screw it, its not worth the trouble.
Again very sorry for your loss, hope it all works out.

My departed Mom's IRS refund took 5 months to get. It was like $40 so I did not sweat it.

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
My father died April 11 2020.

My brother is the executor and is planning to file his final tax return.

He didn’t have much, past few years average about a $1400 return. For 3 1/2 months of 2020, I am guessing $350-$400 at most.

My thought is it really isn’t worth the hassle, curious what’s the worst that can happen if nobody files anything?

If there is no estate for them to complicate , I would let it go . Although , if your brother is named as Executor , he may have a legal obligation to see that the taxes are filed . That's a question for the Attorney .

No estate left, he lived with me, did not own anything beyond clothes/personal possessions. Navy retirement, State retirement and SS were his only income sources and all timely advised of death. Had some money in savings, used for final arrangements with remainder split between brother and I per his will.

Brother is executor, yes “legal obligation” but what does that even mean these days? Pretty sure Al Sharpton still hasn’t paid his taxes, Pelosi makes rules about metal detectors than ignores them, my state as well as the feds pick and choose which laws to enforce, etc...

Why does the average Joe have such obligation when so many others are allowed to ignore theirs?

We didn't have this problem when Mom or Dad died thank goodness. It may be time to get a lawyer and cpa in the game. I know its money but sometimes you just have to do it.

Mom passed recently . She had no assets to speak of . She collected a small pension of my father's and Social Security . My sister and I had signature authority on her bank accounts and there wasn't much in them . We notified SS and the retirement system of her death . We closed the bank accounts and turned off the utilities . She hadn't filed income taxes in years since she was under the income level . Her funeral expenses were prepaid . It was a relatively simple process .

Something doesn't make sense here and the advice to go to the taxpayer advocate is probably the way to go. I don't remember the 'magic number' but you must be able to show that you have attempted to resolve the matter through the normal channels.


****************
Before I approach the Taxpayer Advocate I always set out what happened. I go step by step/day by day. Here's a format.

Background
My father (full name and SSN) died on zyz On or about date, I (electronically or paper filed) his 20xx federal income tax return Form 1040. That return reflects a refund of $xx. (Indicate whether you did or did not include Form 1310)

Comment on probate states. If estate was subject to probate, attach order confirming you as personal representative. If not, explain. For example, in a fax I sent the IRS I said something like, I am a co-representative under my mother's Will however she had a very small estate that was not subject to probate proceedings in X State. Accordingly, there is no court order appointing a personal representative. I have attached an executed Form 1310 confirming these facts. (This is important because that form is signed under penalty of perjury.)

Summary of actions to date
---------------------------
I received a notice dated xyz, reference number ABC (copy attached) that states the following: [Summarize notice and describe follow-up. For example, you responded by letter, called and spoke with an IRS representative (best if you have name and date), sent a fax.

Repeat for each notice or call.


Current status.
describe

Requested Action
Please tell me what additional information is required so we can resolve the issue and the refund can be refunded.


Attachments
Death Certificate
Form 1310 (make sure you sign it)
If this went through probate, include court order confirming you as personal representative
IRS Notice dated xxx
IRS Notice dated abc
Fax from me to IRS Person's name dated xyz
Copy of my letter dated xyz

to extent possible, attach in the order mentioned in the letter. If it's a lot of paper, then use attachment numbers so they can find thing quickly.

Hope it goes well for you

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:

My thought is it really isn’t worth the hassle, curious what’s the worst that can happen if nobody files anything?

Everything is now automated. So the IRS knows the income sources and taxes that were withheld. If a return should have been filed, at some point you'll start getting hounded with notices. This can be bad - the case can move to collections quickly and the IRS' estimate of tax will probably be too high. (No way to estimate deductions.) Seems easiest route is to file a return and attach Form 1310

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1310.pdf

General info https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1310

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SR,