To have a deceased taxpayer’s refund sent by direct deposit using Form 1310, enter your bank’s routing number, account number, and account type in the refund section of the decedent’s final Form 1040, and attach a completed Form 1310 to establish your legal right to receive the money. Form 1310 itself has no banking fields; it is the authorization that travels with the return. As of the December 2025 revision, the whole package can be e-filed through tax software or mailed on paper.
Where the Direct Deposit Information Actually Goes
This is the point that trips most people up. Form 1310 does not have a space for bank information. The direct deposit details belong on the Form 1040 you are filing for the deceased taxpayer, in the refund section at lines 35a through 35d: routing number, account number, account type (checking or savings), and the deposit amount. You fill those fields in exactly as you would on any other return. Form 1310 sits on top of that return as the document proving you are entitled to the funds the 1040 is asking the IRS to release.
Pull the routing and account numbers from a voided check or an official bank statement rather than relying on memory. The routing number is nine digits. A single wrong digit will cause the electronic transfer to fail, and the IRS will fall back to mailing a paper check, which adds weeks.
Which Account the Refund Can Go Into
The account must belong to the person authorized to receive the refund, not to the deceased taxpayer. A deposit into a closed or frozen account will bounce back to the IRS and convert to a paper check. If you have opened an estate bank account, that works. If you have not, a personal checking or savings account you control is acceptable. Depositing into an account still in the decedent’s name alone is the fastest way to turn an electronic refund into a months-long paper-check saga.
Whether You Even Need Form 1310
Not every person claiming a deceased taxpayer’s refund has to file Form 1310. The IRS waives it in two situations:
- A surviving spouse filing an original or amended joint return with the decedent for the year of death claims the refund directly on that return.
- A court-appointed personal representative filing the decedent’s original Form 1040 (not an amended return) can skip Form 1310 as long as a certified copy of the court certificate is attached to the return.
Everyone else needs it. That includes surviving spouses claiming a refund for a prior tax year, personal representatives filing amended returns or refund claims, and family members handling a decedent’s affairs when no probate has been opened.
Completing Form 1310
Form 1310 is one page, and the choice of box in Part I controls almost everything else.
Box A: Surviving Spouse Not Filing Jointly
Use Box A if you were married to the decedent but are not filing a joint return for the year the refund is due. This covers refunds for prior tax years or situations where a joint return does not fit the final year.
Box B: Court-Appointed Personal Representative
Use Box B if a probate court appointed you as executor or administrator and you are filing an amended return on Form 1040-X or a refund claim on Form 843.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 – Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer The December 2025 revision requires you to attach the court certificate to Form 1310 itself, even if you already filed it with an earlier return. A copy of the decedent’s will does not count as proof of your appointment.
Box C: Anyone Else
Box C is the common box for adult children, siblings, or other relatives handling a decedent’s affairs when there is no formal probate. Checking it triggers Part II, which asks three certification questions: whether the decedent left a will, whether a personal representative has been or will be appointed, and whether you will distribute the refund according to the laws of the state where the decedent lived.
If a personal representative has been or will be appointed, that person must file for the refund instead of you. If you cannot certify that you will pay out the refund under state law, the IRS will hold the money until you submit a court certificate or other legal proof of your entitlement.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 – Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer Box C claimants should understand their state’s rules on small estates and intestate succession before signing.
Part III is the signature block. You sign under penalties of perjury, print your name, add your Social Security Number and mailing address, and date the form. If both spouses on a joint return are deceased, each needs a separate Form 1310.
Documents to Have Ready
Every claimant needs a certified copy of the death certificate, the decedent’s full legal name, Social Security Number, and date of death, and the claimant’s own name, Social Security Number, and current mailing address.
Box B claimants also need current, certified copies of the court certificate showing their appointment. States call this document different things: Letters Testamentary, Letters of Administration, or Letters of Representation.2Internal Revenue Service. Request Deceased Person’s Information Attach it directly to Form 1310.
For the direct deposit itself, you need four things from the bank: the institution’s name, the nine-digit routing number, the full account number, and whether the account is checking or savings.
E-Filing or Paper
The December 2025 revision expanded filing options. Form 1310 can now be filed electronically when attached to a Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, or 1040-SS that is itself being e-filed.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 – Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer Most commercial tax software supports this. E-filing is faster and cuts down on the error loops that stall paper submissions.
If you are mailing a paper return, attach Form 1310 and all supporting documents to the final Form 1040 and send the package to the IRS Service Center for the decedent’s state of residence; the address is in the Form 1040 instructions. If the final return was already filed and you are submitting Form 1310 on its own, send it to the same Service Center that received the original return. If the original was e-filed, use the Service Center designated for the address shown on Form 1310.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 – Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer
On a paper return, write “Deceased,” the decedent’s name, and the date of death across the top of the Form 1040.3Internal Revenue Service. How to File a Final Tax Return for Someone Who Has Passed Away Tax software adds this notation automatically when you mark the taxpayer as deceased.4Internal Revenue Service. Filing a Final Federal Tax Return for Someone Who Has Died Keep copies of everything you submit, because any later IRS request for information will be much easier to answer with your own file in hand.
How Long It Takes
E-filed returns with Form 1310 move faster than paper, but the 21-day turnaround that applies to a living taxpayer’s e-filed return does not. The IRS does not publish a specific processing window for deceased taxpayer returns. Plan for several months rather than several weeks, longer during peak filing season. Any gap in documentation stretches the timeline: a missing death certificate, an unsigned form, or a court certificate that does not match the claimant’s name will trigger a letter and another round of waiting.
Federal law requires the IRS to pay interest on refunds not issued within 45 days of the return’s filing date, or the return’s due date if you filed on time or early. Interest accrues at the overpayment rate set under 26 U.S.C. ยง 6621 and is calculated and added automatically when the refund is issued.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6611 – Interest on Overpayments If the return was filed late, interest does not start until the actual filing date.
Don’t Miss the Refund Deadline
You cannot wait indefinitely. A refund claim must be filed within the later of three years from the date the return was filed (or its due date, if filed early) or two years from the date the tax was paid.6Internal Revenue Service. Time You Can Claim a Credit or Refund Withholding and estimated tax payments made during the year are treated as paid on the return’s due date for this calculation. Miss the window and the refund is gone for good, no matter how clear the entitlement.
Where the decedent’s final return was never filed at all, the two-year-from-payment rule controls. If you are approaching the three-year mark, file the return now, even with estimated figures, to keep the claim alive.