Form 1310 is the IRS document used to claim a federal tax refund owed to someone who has died. You file it with the decedent’s final tax return (or on its own if the return was already filed) and the refund is then issued to you rather than to the deceased taxpayer. Two groups don’t need it: a surviving spouse filing a joint return, and a court-appointed personal representative who attaches a copy of the court certificate to the return. Everyone else claiming the refund has to file Form 1310.
Who Has to File Form 1310
Federal law puts the deceased person’s final tax return in the hands of the executor, administrator, or whoever is responsible for the decedent’s property.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6012 – Persons Required To Make Returns of Income Whether that person also needs Form 1310 depends on their status.
- A surviving spouse filing a joint return for the year of death does not file Form 1310. The IRS treats the surviving spouse as entitled to the joint refund.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators
- A court-appointed personal representative does not file Form 1310 as long as a copy of the court certificate of appointment is attached to the return.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators
- Everyone else claiming the refund must file Form 1310. That covers family members who aren’t the surviving spouse, representatives without a court appointment, and any other person handling the decedent’s affairs.3Internal Revenue Service. Filing a Final Federal Tax Return for Someone Who Has Died
One case catches surviving spouses off guard. If a refund check has already been issued in both names and you need it reissued in your name alone, you do file Form 1310. The December 2025 revision handles this under Line A, and the IRS will reissue the check to the surviving spouse.4Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310, Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer
How to Fill Out the Form
Form 1310 is a short PDF available on IRS.gov and inside most tax preparation software. It has three parts.
Part I: Which Claimant You Are
You check one of three boxes: (A) surviving spouse asking for a reissued check, (B) court-appointed or certified personal representative, or (C) anyone else. Most people who actually need Form 1310 check box C, because boxes A and B often don’t require the form at all. Box B filers attach the court certificate. Box C filers continue to Part II.
Part II: Questions for Non-Spouse, Non-Court-Appointed Claimants
Part II asks whether a personal representative has been or will be appointed, and whether a court proceeding is pending. Your answers tell the IRS whether a probate court is overseeing the estate. When no court-appointed representative exists and none will be, the IRS uses Form 1310 as its basis for releasing the refund to you. Answer based on the actual probate status at the time you file; incorrect answers here are a common reason claims stall.
Part III: Signature
You sign under penalty of perjury, affirming the information is accurate and that you will distribute the refund according to the decedent’s will or applicable state inheritance laws. This is a legal commitment.
Across all three parts, the decedent’s full legal name, Social Security number, and date of death must match the death certificate exactly, and the name should match what appears on the decedent’s last filed return or Social Security card. Mismatches in these fields are one of the most common causes of delay or rejection.
Do not attach the death certificate to Form 1310. Keep it in your records and produce it only if the IRS asks.4Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310, Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer Acceptable proof, if requested, is a copy of the death certificate or a formal notification from a government office such as the Department of Defense.
How and Where to File It
Form 1310 attaches to the decedent’s final individual income tax return, usually Form 1040 or 1040-SR. That final return covers January 1 through the date of death and is due by the normal April deadline the following year.5Internal Revenue Service. How To File a Final Tax Return for Someone Who Has Passed Away An extension is available the same way it is for any individual return.
If the final return was already filed without a refund claim, or if a check was issued but needs to be reissued, you can mail Form 1310 by itself. The correct mailing address depends on where you (the claimant) live and is listed in the instructions for the decedent’s return. Sending it to the wrong service center adds weeks.
The return has to be filed to get the refund, even if the decedent’s income was below the normal filing threshold. If any tax was withheld from wages, pensions, or other income, or estimated tax was paid, filing is the only way to recover it.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators
How Long You Have to Claim the Refund
The refund claim has to be made within three years from the date the return was filed or two years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6511 – Limitations on Credit or Refund If no return was ever filed, the window is two years from the date the tax was paid. Miss the deadline and the money is gone, no matter how legitimate the claim.
Families sometimes lose refunds this way. If the decedent died in 2024 and the final return isn’t filed until 2028, the three-year window has already closed on some earlier withholding. Prior-year refunds the decedent never claimed can still be recovered, but only for years still inside the statutory window.
Processing Time and Tracking
Paper-filed returns generally take at least six weeks from the date the IRS receives them before a refund is issued.7Internal Revenue Service. Refunds Returns filed with Form 1310 can take longer if anything on the form is inconsistent or incomplete. If there’s a problem, the IRS will send a letter asking for more information. Respond quickly. Ignored correspondence can end with the claim closed.
You can check status through the “Where’s My Refund” tool on IRS.gov or by calling 800-829-1954. For married-filing-jointly returns, the automated systems may not work and you’ll need a representative at 800-829-1040.8Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries
If a Refund Check Was Issued But Never Cashed
Refund checks expire, and cashing one made out to a deceased person is complicated. To get a replacement, start a refund trace. You can initiate one through the “Where’s My Refund” tool, the automated line at 800-829-1954, or a live representative at 800-829-1040. Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund, does the same thing by mail.8Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries
If the original check was never cashed, the IRS cancels it and reissues the refund. If it was cashed by someone, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service investigates and sends you a claim package with a copy of the cashed check. That review can take up to six weeks on its own.8Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries
Form 1310 vs. the Estate’s Own Tax ID
The decedent’s final Form 1040 uses their existing Social Security number, and so does the Form 1310 refund claim attached to it. You do not need an Employer Identification Number just to claim this refund.
An EIN comes in only when the estate itself earns income after the date of death, such as interest, rent, or dividends on estate assets. That income is reported on Form 1041, the estate income tax return, which requires an EIN.9Internal Revenue Service. File an Estate Tax Income Tax Return Form 1310 and Form 1041 handle two different things: one recovers money the decedent had already earned, the other reports what the estate earns after they’re gone.