Doing taxes-for my mother who passed away in 2004!?

Question

I am very confused. I have to file her 2004 taxes as he passed away Feb. 2005. My father died in 2003 but my mother did it for him.
I am using taxbrain.com and don't see an option anywhere for someone like me who is filing for someone else who passed away. Do I just file as though I were her? Will the refund come to me and if so, what happens when the payment to IRS comes FROM me? Will they start asking questions?
What if I can't find all the forms to file for her? I don't know everything she did but have some ideas.
Lots of questions here! Please help streamline this for me. Thanks!!

Answer 1

I am not familiar with taxbrain. Maybe you can try their online support. You will need to indicate the date of death for your mother.

If you find the online program confusing, do yourself a favor and have a professional do it. This is something you are only doing once, reduce your stress. It will not cost any more to file a decedent's return than to file a regular return.

You do not file just as though you were her. Since you are not a spouse, an additional form needs to be filed with the IRS to indicate that you are entitled to the refund. If there is a balance due, the IRS will have no problem accepting your payment (but put your mother's, name, SSN, and the tax year on the check).

So, get yourself over to a tax pro unless the technical support at taxbrain makes sense to you. Just a regular preparation place in your local strip mall will probably do. You are likely to get an experienced person during the off-season. Go to the company website to see who is open all year.

And when you go to get 2004 done, ask them if it is necessary to file 2005 as well, because it might be.

Answer 2

First off, you can't file a prior year return on-line so forget about Taxbrain.com. You have to download the instructions and forms from the IRS website, fill them in, and mail them.

The process is a bit convoluted so here's a link to the relevant tax topic on the IRS website that will get you started: http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc356.html

Basically the executor of the estate is responsible for filing the final tax return of the decedent, as well as any missing returns from prior years. The return is filled out in the name of the decedent, with the word "DECEASED" in block capitals at the top of the return. The executor signs the return as the executor of the estate.

If there is a refund due, a Form 1310 normally has to be attached to the return but there are exceptions to that rule. The linked article will get you started on the process. If there is any tax due, the estate is responsible for payment, not you. If the estate has no resources, the tax debt will go unpaid in most cases, unless someone withdrew assets from the estate prior to preparation of the final return(s).

Answer 3

The following link seems to offer some tips that will be helpful to you.
http://www.taxact.com/reference/topic-income-tax-return.asp

Answer 4

Recommend you get a CPA dude