Credits, Tax, and Payments: Taxes After a Death (2025 IRS Guide)
This guide covers “Credits, Tax, and Payments” within taxes after a death. The following material presents the IRS treatment of this topic, including the qualifications, exceptions, and examples in the source section. Read the rules alongside the facts of your own situation before deciding what to report, deduct, or document.
Adapted from Publication 559 (2025), Survivors, Executors, and Administrators, published by the Internal Revenue Service. This guide retains the source edition’s years, amounts, deadlines, and examples. It is guidance for that edition, not a statement that the same figures apply to every tax year.
Context for these rules
An estate is a taxable entity separate from the decedent and comes into being with the death of the individual. It exists until the final distribution of its assets to the heirs and other beneficiaries. Income earned by the decedent up to and including the date of death is included on the decedent's final Form 1040 tax return. Income received after the date of death is included on the estate's Form 1041 tax return. The tax is generally figured in the same manner and on the same basis as for individuals, with certain differences in the computation of deductions and credits, as explained later.
The estate's income, like an individual's income, must be reported annually on either a calendar or fiscal year basis. The personal representative chooses the estate's accounting period upon filing the first Form 1041. The estate's first tax year can be any period that ends on the last day of a month and doesn't exceed 12 months.
Generally, once chosen, the tax year can't be changed without IRS approval. Also, on the first income tax return, the personal representative must choose the accounting method (cash, accrual, or other) to report the estate's income. Once a method is used, it ordinarily can't be changed without IRS approval. For a more complete discussion of accounting periods and methods, see Pub. 538.
Credits, Tax, and Payments
This section includes brief discussions of some of the tax credits, types of taxes that may be owed, and estimated tax payments reported on the estate's Form 1041.
Credits
Estates are generally allowed some of the same tax credits that are allowed to individuals. The credits are generally allocated between the estate and the beneficiaries. However, estates aren't allowed the credit for the elderly or the disabled, the child tax credit, or the earned income credit discussed earlier under Final Income Tax Return for Decedent—Form 1040 or 1040-SR.
Foreign tax credit.
The foreign tax credit is discussed in Pub. 514, Foreign Tax Credit for Individuals.
General business credit.
The general business credit is available to an estate involved in a business. For more information, see Pub. 334.
Tax
You can't use the Tax Table for individuals to figure the estate tax. You must use the tax rate schedule in the Instructions for Form 1041 to figure the estate tax.
Alternative minimum tax (AMT).
An estate may be liable for the AMT. To figure the AMT, use Schedule I (Form 1041), Alternative Minimum Tax—Estates and Trusts. Certain credits may be limited by any tentative minimum tax figured on Schedule I (Form 1041), Part III, line 52, even if there is no AMT liability.
If the estate takes a deduction for distributions to beneficiaries, complete Parts I and II of Schedule I (Form 1041) even if the estate doesn't owe AMT. Allocate the income distribution deduction figured on a minimum tax basis among the beneficiaries and report each beneficiary's share on Schedule K-1 (Form 1041). Also, show each beneficiary's share of any adjustments or tax preference items for depreciation, depletion, and amortization.
For more information, see the Instructions for Schedule I (Form 1041).
Payments
The estate's income tax liability must be paid in full when the return is filed. You may have to pay estimated tax, however, as explained below.
Estimated tax.
Estates with tax years ending 2 or more years after the date of the decedent's death must pay estimated tax in the same manner as individuals.
If you must make estimated tax payments for 2026, use Form 1041-ES, Estimated Income Tax for Estates and Trusts, to determine the estimated tax to be paid.
Generally, you must pay estimated tax if the estate is expected to owe, after subtracting any withholding and credits, at least $1,000 in tax for 2026. You won't, however, have to pay estimated tax if you expect the withholding and credits to be at least:
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90% of the tax to be shown on the 2026 return, or
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100% of the tax shown on the 2025 return (assuming the return covered all 12 months).
The general rule is that the first estimated tax payment must be made by the 15th day of the 4th month of the tax year (whether calendar or fiscal). The estimated tax may be paid in full at that time or paid in four equal installments on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, and 9th months of the tax year, and the 1st month of the following tax year. If any of these dates fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the payment must be made by the next business day. For 2026, a calendar year taxpayer's estimated tax payments are due on April 15, 2026; June 15, 2026; September 15, 2026; and January 15, 2027.
For exceptions to the general rule, see the Instructions for Form 1041-ES and Pub. 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax.
A penalty may be charged for not paying enough estimated tax or for not making the payment on time in the required amount (even if there is an overpayment on the tax return). Use Form 2210, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals, Estates, and Trusts, to figure any penalty, or let the IRS figure the penalty.
For more information, see the Instructions for Form 1041-ES and Pub. 505. Also, see Transfer of Credit for Estimated Tax Payments, later, for information regarding the transfer of the estate's estimated tax payments to the beneficiary(ies).
Using the guidance
Keep the documents that establish the dates, amounts, and circumstances described above. References to other chapters, forms, worksheets, or earlier and later sections refer to the linked IRS publication. Check the full publication and its updates before relying on a rule for a different tax year or a situation not addressed here.
Sources and further reading
- Publication 559 (2025), Survivors, Executors, and Administrators: Income Tax Return of an Estate—Form 1041 — Credits, Tax, and Payments — Internal Revenue Service; 2025 edition.
The cited U.S. government text is in the public domain. Source accessed October 28, 2026. Fynoptic has organized this material for educational use and is independent of, and not endorsed by, the IRS.