Tax Forgiveness for Armed Forces Members, Victims of Terrorism, and Astronauts: Taxes After a Death (2025 IRS Guide)

This guide covers “Tax Forgiveness for Armed Forces Members, Victims of Terrorism, and Astronauts” 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

The personal representative (defined earlier) must file the final income tax return (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) of the decedent for the year of death and any returns not filed for preceding years. A surviving spouse, under certain circumstances, may have to file the returns for the decedent. See Joint Return, later.

Tax Forgiveness for Armed Forces Members, Victims of Terrorism, and Astronauts

Income tax liability may be forgiven for a decedent who dies due to service in a combat zone, due to military or terrorist actions, as a result of a terrorist attack, or while serving in the line of duty as an astronaut.

Combat Zone

If a member of the Armed Forces of the United States dies while in active service in a combat zone or from wounds, disease, or injury incurred in a combat zone, the decedent's income tax liability is abated (forgiven) for the entire year in which death occurred and for any prior tax year ending on or after the first day the person served in a combat zone in active service. For this purpose, a qualified hazardous duty area is treated as a combat zone.

If the tax (including interest, additions to the tax, and additional amounts) for these years has been assessed, the assessment will be forgiven. If the tax has been collected (regardless of the date of collection), that tax will be credited or refunded.

Any of the decedent's income tax for tax years before those mentioned above that remains unpaid as of the actual (or presumptive) date of death won't be assessed. If any unpaid tax (including interest, additions to the tax, and additional amounts) has been assessed, this assessment will be forgiven. Also, if any tax was collected after the date of death, that amount will be credited or refunded.

The date of death of a member of the Armed Forces reported as missing in action or as a prisoner of war is the date the member’s name is removed from missing status for military pay purposes. This is true even if death actually occurred earlier.

For other tax information for members of the Armed Forces, see Pub. 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide.

Military or Terrorist Actions

The decedent's income tax liability is forgiven if, at death, the decedent was a military or civilian employee of the United States who died because of wounds or injury incurred:

• While a U.S. employee, and

• In a military or terrorist action.

The forgiveness applies to the tax year in which death occurred and for any earlier tax year, beginning with the year before the year in which the wounds or injury occurred.

Example.

The income tax liability of a civilian employee of the United States who died in 2025 because of wounds incurred while a U.S. employee in a terrorist attack that occurred in 2019 will be forgiven for 2025 and for all prior tax years in the period 2018 through 2024. Refunds are allowed for the tax years for which the period for filing a claim for refund hasn't ended, as discussed later.

Military or terrorist action defined.

A military or terrorist action means the following.

• Any terrorist activity that most of the evidence indicates was directed against the United States or any of its allies.

• Any military action involving the U.S. Armed Forces and resulting from violence or aggression against the United States or any of its allies, or the threat of such violence or aggression.

Terrorist activity includes criminal offenses intended to coerce, intimidate, or retaliate against the government or civilian population. Military action doesn't include training exercises. Any multinational force in which the United States is participating is treated as an ally of the United States.

Determining if a terrorist activity or military action has occurred.

You may rely on published guidance from the IRS to determine if a particular event is considered a terrorist activity or military action.

Specified Terrorist Victim

The Victims of Terrorism Tax Relief Act of 2001 (the Act) provides tax relief for those injured or killed as a result of terrorist attacks, certain survivors of those killed as a result of terrorist attacks, and others who were affected by terrorist attacks. Under the Act, the federal income tax liability of those killed in the following attacks (specified terrorist victim) is forgiven for certain tax years.

• The April 19, 1995, terrorist attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building (Oklahoma City).

• The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

• The terrorist attacks involving anthrax occurring after September 10, 2001, and before January 1, 2002.

The Act also exempts from federal income tax the following types of income.

• Qualified disaster relief payments made after September 10, 2001, to cover personal, family, living, or funeral expenses incurred because of a terrorist attack.

• Certain disability payments (including Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments) received in tax years ending after September 10, 2001, for injuries sustained in a terrorist attack.

• Certain death benefits paid by an employer to the survivor of an employee because the employee died as a result of a terrorist attack.

• Payments from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund 2001.

The Act also reduces the estate tax of individuals who die as a result of a terrorist attack. See Pub. 3920, Tax Relief for Victims of Terrorist Attacks for more information.

Astronauts

Legislation extended the tax relief available under the Victims of Terrorism Tax Relief Act of 2001 (the Act) to astronauts who died in the line of duty after December 31, 2002. The decedent's income tax liability is forgiven for the tax year in which death occurs, and for the tax year prior to death. For information on death benefit payments and the reduction of federal estate taxes, see Pub. 3920. However, the discussions in that publication under Death Benefits and Estate Tax Reduction should be modified for astronauts (for example, by using the date of death of the astronaut instead of September 11, 2001).

For more information on the Act, see Pub. 3920.

Claim for Credit or Refund

If any of these tax-forgiveness situations applies to a prior year tax, any tax paid for which the period for filing a claim hasn't ended will be credited or refunded. If any tax is still due, it will be canceled. The normal period for filing a claim for credit or refund is 3 years after the return was filed or 2 years after the tax was paid, whichever is later.

If death occurred in a combat zone or from wounds, disease, or injury incurred in a combat zone, the period for filing the claim is extended by:

1. The amount of time served in the combat zone (including any period in which the individual was in missing status), plus

2. The period of continuous qualified hospitalization for injury from service in the combat zone, if any, plus

3. The next 180 days.

Qualified hospitalization means any hospitalization outside the United States and any hospitalization in the United States of not more than 5 years.

This extended period for filing the claim also applies to a member of the Armed Forces who was deployed outside the United States in a designated contingency operation.

Filing a claim.

Use the following procedures to file a claim.

• If a U.S. individual income tax return (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) hasn't been filed, you should make a claim for refund of any withheld income tax or estimated tax payments by filing Form 1040 or 1040-SR. Form W-2 must accompany all returns.

• If a U.S. individual income tax return has been filed, you should make a claim for refund by filing Form 1040-X. You must file a separate Form 1040-X for each year in question.

You must file these returns and claims at the following address for regular mail (U.S. Postal Service).

Internal Revenue Service
333 W. Pershing, Stop 6503, P5
Kansas City, MO 64108

Identify all returns and claims for refund by writing “Iraqi Freedom—KIA,” “Enduring Freedom—KIA,” “Kosovo Operation—KIA,” “Desert Storm—KIA,” or “Former Yugoslavia—KIA” in bold letters on the top of page 1 of the return or claim. On the applicable return, write the same phrase on the line for total tax. If the individual was killed in a terrorist or military action, put “KITA” on the front of the return and on the line for total tax.

Include an attachment showing the computation of the decedent's tax liability and a computation of the amount to be forgiven. On joint returns, make an allocation of the tax as described later under Joint returns. If you can't make a proper allocation, attach a statement of all income and deductions allocable to each spouse and the IRS will make the proper allocation.

You must attach Form 1310 to all returns and claims for refund. However, for exceptions to filing Form 1310, see Form 1310, Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer, under Refund, earlier.

You must also attach proof of death that includes a statement that the individual was a U.S. employee on the date of injury and on the date of death and died as the result of a military or terrorist action. For military and civilian employees of the Department of Defense, attach DD Form 1300, Report of Casualty. For other U.S. civilian employees killed in the United States, attach a death certificate and a certification (letter) from the federal employer. For other U.S. civilian employees killed overseas, attach a certification from the Department of State.

If you don't have enough tax information to file a timely claim for refund, you can suspend the period for filing a claim by filing Form 1040-X. Attach Form 1310, any required documentation currently available, and a statement that you will file an amended claim as soon as you have the required tax information.

Joint returns.

If a joint return was filed, only the decedent's part of the income tax liability is eligible for forgiveness. Determine the decedent's tax liability as follows.

1. Figure the income tax for which the decedent would have been liable if a separate return had been filed.

2. Figure the income tax for which the spouse would have been liable if a separate return had been filed.

3. Multiply the joint tax liability by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the amount in (1) above. The denominator of the fraction is the total of (1) and (2).

The resulting amount from (3) above is the decedent's tax liability eligible for forgiveness. See also Worksheet B in Pub. 3920.

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: Final Income Tax Return for Decedent—Form 1040 or 1040-SR — Tax Forgiveness for Armed Forces Members, Victims of Terrorism, and Astronauts — 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.