MICHIGAN help - procedural question

[FEDUKE404]

Client resided in a nursing home in MI, and used that address on prior year tax returns.

Person died in summer of 2010, and adult child (living in another state) will be filing all tax returns. Included is a required Form 1310 for the federal refund. There is no tax liability for MI nor any refund due.

QUESTION: What address is best to show on the actual federal and MI income tax returns? In theory the paper (required) return would have to go to the appropriate processing center for MI.....BUT that would mean the IRS/MI folks would then have a non-applicable mailing address on file should future correspondence be necessary. OTOH, I would be a bit concerned that the home state of the executor might come sniffing around without a valid reason to do so.

I assume the refund, as shown on the Form 1310, would govern where the actual refund check was sent. (I'm not sure yet if a direct deposit would even fly....)

Suggestions??

FE

[Koss]

Correct Address

You are correct that the "home state of the executor might come sniffing around without a valid reason." But if that happens, then you simply inform them that there was no nexus in the state for any of the economic activity reflected on the return, and that the address in question was used as a mailing address only.

You have to use a valid, current mailing address for the executor. As you pointed out, this is important if the IRS sends any correspondence.

The return should be mailed to the IRS processing center that corresponds to the address that appears on the return.

A tax return simply should not be filed with an address that is not a current, valid address for the taxpayer. End of story.

Some taxpayers may legitimately choose to file a return using an office address, or a post office box, or possibly even the home address of an immediate family member. These can all be legitimate options in certain cases. I had a case some years ago where a woman with an abusive partner wanted to get out the relationship, and didn't want the guy to know that she had received a tax refund. She wasn't worried about the guy stealing the check; she didn't even want him to see the check arrive in the mail. So she used the address of a friend or family member who knew the check was coming.

So I'm certainly not taking the position that a Form 1040 must have the taxpayer's current home street address where they physically live. There is sometimes a valid reason for using a different address.

But you can't use an address that's no good. IRS correspondence sent to the taxpayer at the address on the last return filed is deemed to have been delivered. An audit notice could go into a black hole, with disastrous consequences...

BMK