Form 1041 and Schedule K-1

[Kirk]

I am working on Form 1041 for a Decedent's Estate. The only income the Estate has is a small amount of interest and dividends, and a sale of the Prudential Stock that paid the dividends. The total income of the Estate is well under the $600 filing threshold, but there was back-up withholding taken from the Gross Stock sale, as well as the dividends. My question is do I need to file Form 1041 in order to pass the back-up withholding on to the lone beneficiary on Schedule K-1, or can the K-1 be filed seperately without filing Form 1041? I am new to this form, and just want to be sure that it's done correctly. Thank you so much for your time, and any help that you can give me.

[appelman]

To the best of my knowledge...

...you are going to have to file the 1041 to get the withholding refunded, just as an individual would under similar circumstances. The refund belongs to the estate, not the beneficiary. There is no provision for passing an overpayment through on the K-1.

[Kirk]

Form 1041 and Schedule K-1

Thank you for the response. Actually, for the little I've learned about the 1041, back-up withholding can be passed on to the beneficiary, and is shown in box 13 of Schedule K-1 with the letter B. So, the question remains, do I need to file a Form 1041 (even though it is not otherwise required) in order to generate a Schedule K-1, or can the K-1 be filed seperately without the 1041? If I do need to file, because the back-up withholding would not be shown on the 1041, would I need to attach the 1099-B to show where I got the back-up withholding from that would be entered on the Schedule K-1? Thanks again for your time and help.

[appelman]

Oops, I was a little too fast.

I missed the Code B for Box 13 of the K-1. But you still have to file the 1041. The K-1 is not a stand-alone form. The details are given in the instructions to Line 24e of the 1041.