Form 1310 (Rev. 8-2019)
Page 2
Additional Information
For more details, see Death of a Taxpayer in the instructions for
your return, or get Pub. 559, Survivors, Executors, and
Administrators.
Specific Instructions
Name of Decedent
If you are filing a joint return for spouses who are both deceased
and you are required to file Form 1310 (see Who Must File,
earlier), you must do the following.
• Complete a separate Form 1310 for each spouse.
• Attach both of these completed Forms 1310 to the return.
Note: If a refund is due, following these steps will assist in the
timely release of the refund.
P.O. Box
Enter your box number only if your post office does not deliver
mail to your home.
Foreign Address
If your address is outside the United States or its possessions or
territories, enter the information in the following order: city,
province or state, and country. Follow the country’s practice for
entering the postal code. Do not abbreviate the country name.
Line A
Check the box on line A if you received a refund check in your
name and your deceased spouse’s name. You can return the
joint-name check with Form 1310 to your local IRS office or the
Internal Revenue Service Center where you filed your return. A
new check will be issued in your name and mailed to you.
Line B
Check the box on line B only if you are the decedent’s court-
appointed or certified personal representative claiming a refund
for the decedent on Form 1040X (1040-X beginning with the
January 2020 revision), Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax
Return, or Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for
Abatement. You must attach a copy of the court certificate
showing your appointment. But if you have already sent the
court certificate to the IRS, complete Form 1310 and write
“Certificate Previously Filed” at the bottom of the form.
Line C
Check the box on line C if you are not a surviving spouse
claiming a refund based on a joint return and there is no court-
appointed or certified personal representative. You must also
complete Part II. If you check the box on line C, you must have
proof of death.
The proof of death is a copy of either of the following.
• The death certificate.
• The formal notification from the appropriate government office
(for example, Department of Defense) informing the next of kin
of the decedent’s death.
Do not attach the death certificate or other proof of death to
Form 1310. Instead, keep it for your records and provide it if
requested.
Example. Your father died on August 25. You are his sole
survivor. Your father did not have a will and the court did not
appoint a personal representative for his estate. Your father is
entitled to a $300 refund. To get the refund, you must complete
and attach Form 1310 to your father’s final return. You should
check the box on Form 1310, line C, answer all the questions in
Part II, and sign your name in Part III. You must also keep a
copy of the death certificate or other proof of death for your
records.
Lines 1–3
If you checked the box on line C, you must complete lines 1
through 3.
Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act
Notice
We ask for the information on this form to carry out the Internal
Revenue laws of the United States. This information will be used
to determine your eligibility pursuant to Internal Revenue Code
section 6012 to claim the refund due the decedent. Code
section 6109 requires you to provide your social security
number and that of the decedent. 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. Failure to provide this
information may delay or prevent processing of your claim.
Providing false or fraudulent information may subject you to
penalties. Routine uses of this information include providing it to
the Department of Justice for use in civil and criminal litigation,
to the Social Security Administration for the administration of
Social Security programs, and to cities, states, the District of
Columbia, and U.S. commonwealths and possessions for use in
administering their tax laws. We may also disclose this
information to other countries under a tax treaty, to federal and
state agencies to enforce federal nontax criminal laws, or to
federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to combat
terrorism. You do not have to provide your phone number.
You are not required to provide the information requested on
a form unless the form displays a valid OMB control number.
Books or records relating to a form or its instructions must be
retained as long as their contents may become material in the
administration of any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax
returns and return information are confidential, as required by
Code section 6103.
The average time and expenses required to complete and file
this form will vary depending on individual circumstances. For
the estimated averages, see the instructions for your income tax
return.
If you have suggestions for making this form simpler, we
would be happy to hear from you. See the instructions for your
income tax return.
