Form 1310 Instructions: Parts I–III, Attachments, and Filing

Form 1310 is the IRS statement you attach to claim a federal tax refund owed to a taxpayer who has died. The instructions for Form 1310 come down to four decisions: whether you need to file it at all, which box you check in Part I, whether Part II applies to you, and what documentation travels with it. Getting those four right is what moves the refund; getting them wrong is what stalls it for months.

First, Check Whether You Actually Need the Form

Two filers skip Form 1310 entirely:

A surviving spouse filing an original or amended joint return with the deceased spouse (Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, or 1040-SS).
A court-appointed personal representative filing the decedent’s original return with the court certificate attached.¹

Everyone else files it. That includes a surviving spouse who is not filing jointly, any heir or relative without a court appointment, and a court-appointed representative who is filing an amended return or a separate refund claim rather than the original return.¹

Fill Out the Header

The top of the form is identification. Enter the decedent’s name, date of death, and Social Security number, the tax year the refund belongs to, and your own name, Social Security number, and mailing address as the person claiming the refund.¹ If both spouses on a joint return have died, prepare a separate Form 1310 for each.

Choose One Box in Part I

Part I is a single choice. You check exactly one of three boxes, and the choice controls the rest of the form.

Box A: Surviving Spouse Returning a Joint Refund Check

Box A is narrow. Use it only if you already received a refund check made out jointly to you and your deceased spouse and you cannot cash it. To claim under Box A, return the original check marked “VOID” with the completed Form 1310 to your local IRS office or the service center where the return was filed, along with a written request that the check be reissued in your name alone.¹

Box B: Court-Appointed Representative Filing an Amended Return or Refund Claim

Box B applies when you are a court-appointed or court-certified personal representative and you are claiming the refund through Form 1040-X (amended return) or Form 843 (claim for refund and request for abatement). It does not apply when you file the decedent’s original return with the court certificate attached, because that scenario doesn’t require Form 1310 at all.¹

Attach a copy of the court certificate (Letters Testamentary, Letters of Administration, or the equivalent) to Form 1310. Publication 559 allows a filer who has already submitted the certificate on a prior filing to write “Certificate Previously Filed” at the bottom of Form 1310 in place of reattaching it,² but the form’s own instructions direct you to attach the certificate regardless, so including a copy is the safer path.¹

Box C: Everyone Else

Box C covers claimants who are neither a surviving spouse seeking a reissued check nor a court-appointed representative. This is the box most family members and heirs use. If you check Box C, you must also complete Part II.¹

Answer Part II Carefully

Part II is where Box C claims most often break down. There are four items:

Question 1: Did the decedent leave a will?
Question 2a: Has a court appointed a personal representative for the decedent’s estate?
Question 2b: If no representative has been appointed, will one be appointed?
Question 3: Will you pay out the refund according to the laws of the state where the decedent was a legal resident?

Two traps sit inside those questions. If you answer “Yes” to either 2a or 2b, you cannot claim the refund under Box C. The IRS will look to the court-appointed representative to file the claim instead. Box C is available only when no representative has been appointed and none will be.¹

Question 3 is a commitment. Answering “Yes” means you will distribute the refund among heirs and creditors as your state’s intestacy or probate rules require. Answer “No” and the IRS will hold the refund until you either obtain a court appointment as personal representative or produce other evidence that state law entitles you to receive the money.¹

Sign Part III

Everyone who files Form 1310 signs Part III. The signature line carries a declaration under penalty of perjury that the statements on the form are true. Read what you’ve entered before signing.

What to Attach, and What Not To

The attachments follow the box you checked:

Box A: the original joint refund check marked “VOID,” with a written request that it be reissued in your name.
Box B: a copy of the court certificate showing your appointment.
Box C: proof of death, meaning either a copy of the death certificate or a formal government notification of death, such as one from the Department of Defense.¹

Box C filers should note the counterintuitive rule: do not attach the death certificate to Form 1310. Keep it in your records and produce it only if the IRS asks.¹ Publication 559 gives the same instruction for the decedent’s final tax return itself.²

Where to Send Form 1310

In most cases you attach Form 1310 to the decedent’s final income tax return (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) and file the two together. Form 1310 can be e-filed when it accompanies an electronically filed return. If you’re mailing, send everything to the IRS service center designated for the decedent’s return.¹

If the final return has already been filed and processed, file Form 1310 by itself and mail it to the same service center that handled that return. If you’re a Box B filer attaching Form 1310 to a Form 1040-X or Form 843, follow the filing address instructions for the form you’re amending or claiming on.¹

What Happens After You File

Returns filed with Form 1310 have historically processed more slowly than standard returns because many require manual review. The Taxpayer Advocate Service reported the IRS was still working through a backlog of roughly 1,100 unprocessed decedent returns as of mid-2024, and the agency has been developing a programming update to issue these refunds automatically once Form 1310 is processed.³ You can track a claim through the IRS “Where’s My Refund?” tool, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service is available if a refund has been pending more than six months without resolution.

What a False or Inflated Claim Costs

An excessive refund claim carries a civil penalty equal to 20 percent of the amount that exceeds the refund actually owed, unless you can show reasonable cause for the error.⁴ The penalty is on top of repayment. The Part III signature is a perjury declaration, and misrepresenting your identity, your relationship to the decedent, or the amount owed can expose you to criminal fraud liability. When the refund figure is uncertain, file a good-faith estimate and keep the calculations that support it.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 – Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer
2
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 559 (2025), Survivors, Executors, and Administrators
3
Taxpayer Advocate Service. Are You Still Waiting on a Refund From a Deceased Taxpayer’s Return?
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6676 – Erroneous Claim for Refund or Credit