Filing taxes for deceased father

drmoque
drmoque Member Posts: 2 Newcomer

My father died in August and did not leave behind good documentation of what he did and did not do. Since he took care of both my mother's and hs finances, I will now be doing my mother's and his taxes for 2023.

I was wondering if we can get any waiver of penalties for not paying taxes in advance. I know that he did make quarterly tax payments earlier in the year. But since I don't know how much he needed to do for the year or why, I have not done any since his death. So naturally I am concerned that we will have penalties because I did not know what to do.

Are there any other things to be aware since the tax return will be a joint return for my mom and dad for 2023. They did sell a house before he passed but luckily their gain was less than the allowable amount for a married people ($500k).

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Best Answer

  • MatthewD
    MatthewD FreeTaxUSA Team Posts: 260
    edited December 2023 Answer ✓

    Hi Drmoque,

    I am sorry to hear of your loss. You can apply for a waiver of the underpayment penalty. Generally, the IRS allows for that at least once for situations like yours. That is form 2210 and is found on the MISC menu of our software, if you owe any taxes. Or you need to fill it out if you get a letter from the IRS about any taxes due for 2023, after you file. Keep in mind you need estimated payments at least 90% of what you owe or 100% of what you owed in taxes in the prior year.

    Keep in mind that you can make some estimated payments on his account now. Keep track of them and enter them on the MISC menu under 2023 Estimated Payments. If you overpay, you can claim a refund.

    If you got a 1099-S for the sale of the home, make sure you enter that under the Sale of Home page, found on the Income menu under Uncommon Income.

Answers

  • drmoque
    drmoque Member Posts: 2 Newcomer

    Thank you. I tried to login to his accounts with the IRS and CA FTB but was not able to get in. I suppose I could just do it in my mom's name. May be I can look at his estimated payments from last year and try to match those. I know they are getting RMD's and that is probably why he was doing estimated payments.

    But knowing there is a way to request a waiver is very helpful.

  • shanneyross73
    shanneyross73 Member Posts: 5 Newcomer

    I have a question. My father passed away in March of 2021 we went through probate and all that, but the lawyer never told me anything about filing a final tax return for him, does that mean i didn't have to. And if did what do i need to do. Also i inherited rental property that i didn't realize had to be filed either. So what do i need to do about that. And do i need to file all the inheritance tax forms. i do have records on the properties such as rent paid, taxes etc. Im just a little lost as to what to do. HELP

  • KristineS
    KristineS FreeTaxUSA Agent Posts: 148

    Hi shanneyross73 - I answered your question more directly in the other post you made if you'd like to check out that information. Sorry to hear your father in law passed away.