I have been retained to file an Estate Income Tax Return (Form 1041) for a client's widowed mother's estate. They sent her final 1040 information to a CPA in another state for filing since he had handled the returns in the past. I just got a copy of it, and nowhere is there a Form 1310. The executor signed a Form 8879 and the return was electronically filed with direct deposit into the Estate checking account. Efficient, but did I miss something? Since when is 1310 no longer required?
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From the form instructions
"You are not required to claim the refund due the decedent, but if you do so, you must provide the information requested on this form."
My question is if the claim went directly to and was claimed by the Estate, is the Estate not now the decedent that was?
Also, from the instructions, you are required to fill out form 1310 unless
"You are a personal representative (defined on this page) filing an original Form 1040, Form 1040A, Form 1040EZ, or Form 1040NR for the decedent and a court certificate showing your appointment is attached to the return."
I wonder if they attached a court certificate to the return....I am guessing they didn't but I don't know that they violated the rules due to this ambiguity from the instructions.Circular 230 Disclosure:
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What? Not following.Originally posted by DaveinTexas View Post
Return was electronically filed with refund due the estate. Don't see how a court certificate could have been attached. I have always had to paper-file with a 1310. PS: While I don't have a copy of Form 1310, I did find a copy of the CPA's bill, and Form 1310 is listed. Is it permitted now for the preparer to retain this in their records, and Efile the return?I wonder if they attached a court certificate to the return....I am guessing they didn't but I don't know that they violated the rules due to this ambiguity from the instructions.Last edited by Burke; 10-27-2015, 03:45 PM.Comment
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I don't have any first-hand knowledge, but here are few thoughts:
The instructions for Form 1310 say "If the original return was filed electronically, mail Form 1310 to the Internal Revenue Service Center designated for the address shown on Form 1310 above." So that means the tax return can be e-filed, but Form 1310 still needs to be mailed.
As for the Court order being "attached", the e-file system allows PDFs to be attached to the tax return, so that is a possibility of what happened.Comment
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Thanks, that seems reasonable. And if the 1310 is mailed to the IRS, the court certificate can be attached to the form. Good info to know, but I would have to delete the 1310 from the return in order for efile to be created through my software, as I get an error message that it won't process. Then add it back to the return after the efile was acknowledged. Something to discuss with my software people. Anybody else experienced this?Comment
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I never said I was a computer guru; but how do you make a pdf file out of a paper court document? With a scanner?Originally posted by TaxGuyBill View PostComment
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Yes, with a scanner. My printer is an all-in-one, so it has the printer and fax built-in to it.
However, after thinking about it, that MIGHT be not allowed as an 'official' attachment. Form 8453 used to be required to be mailed if you needed to attach specific items to a tax return (such as Form 8332 to release a dependent's exemption). That can now be attached as a PDF with the attachment, but that Form also specifically says it only covers the specific forms listed (a court order or Form 1310 is not listed). Although my software (ProSeries) allows attachments of "other" things (and the company confirmed that we can attach whatever we want), I don't know how the IRS feels about "other" things as a PDF.
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