How to File Form SSA-1724 for a Deceased Beneficiary

To file Form SSA-1724, you download the form from the Social Security Administration’s website, complete it with the deceased beneficiary’s details and your own information, and submit it by mail or in person to a local Social Security office. The form cannot be filed online.¹ Before you fill anything out, confirm you’re the person federal law says should receive the money, because eligibility is not first-come-first-served.

Confirm You’re Eligible to File

Federal law sets a strict priority order for who can collect a Social Security underpayment owed to someone who has died. The SSA pays the highest-priority person who comes forward, and no one below that tier receives anything.² The order runs:

A surviving spouse who was living in the same household as the deceased at the time of death.
Children who were entitled to benefits on the deceased’s record for the month of death.
Parents who were entitled to benefits on the deceased’s record for the month of death.
A surviving spouse who was not living with the deceased at death.
Children who were not entitled to benefits on the deceased’s record.
Parents who were not entitled to benefits on the deceased’s record.
The legal representative of the deceased’s estate.

The gap between the first three tiers and the next three is larger than it looks. A spouse living with the deceased goes to the front automatically. A spouse who was separated or living elsewhere drops to the fourth tier, behind any children or parents who were drawing benefits on the deceased’s record. Only an estate representative holding court-issued letters of appointment can claim in the final tier, and if nobody in any category comes forward, the money stays with the government. On the form itself, you’ll check the box certifying which category applies to you.

Gather What You’ll Need Before You Start

Information About the Deceased

You’ll enter the deceased beneficiary’s full legal name, Social Security number, and exact date of death. The SSA uses these to pull the benefit record and calculate the precise underpayment.¹ If you don’t have the Social Security number handy, prior SSA correspondence, tax returns, or the Social Security card itself will have it.

Your Own Details

The form asks for your full name, mailing address, and phone number. If you are filing as the estate’s legal representative, you must include a certified copy of court-issued letters of appointment, sometimes called letters testamentary or letters of administration depending on the state.¹ A plain photocopy won’t do. The SSA wants a court-certified original or a certified duplicate.

Banking Information

There is a section for direct deposit: your bank’s nine-digit routing number, your full account number, and whether the account is checking or savings.¹ Direct deposit is faster than a paper check and avoids the risk of mail loss. Verify each digit before submitting. A single wrong number bounces the payment back to the SSA and adds weeks to the process.

Proof of Death

The form itself focuses on your relationship and payment details, but the SSA needs proof the beneficiary has died before it can pay out. In many cases the funeral home or a family member has already reported the death. If not, be ready to provide a certified copy of the death certificate.

Submit the Form

Download and print Form SSA-1724 from the SSA website, then mail the completed form to your local Social Security office or bring it in person.¹ If you drop it off, ask for a receipt or have staff date-stamp your copy. If you mail it, certified mail with a return receipt gives you proof of delivery.

Keep a copy of your signed form and every supporting document. If a dispute or delay comes up later, that copy is your evidence you filed.

What Happens After You File

The SSA verifies the underpayment amount and confirms your eligibility under the priority rules. Processing times vary, but several weeks is typical. Payment then arrives through the direct deposit information you provided or by paper check.

What Form SSA-1724 Does Not Cover

Two related situations sit outside this form. Any benefit payment deposited into a bank account after the beneficiary’s date of death has to be returned; the U.S. Treasury reclaims those funds directly from the bank, and there is nothing to file on your side.³ If that money has already been spent, the account can end up overdrawn when Treasury pulls it back. Separately, the one-time $255 lump-sum death payment has its own eligibility rules and its own application process.⁴ Form SSA-1724 covers only what the deceased was legitimately owed but never received: an unpaid final benefit, a rate that was too low for prior months, a retroactive adjustment the SSA hadn’t finished processing, or a Medicare premium refund the beneficiary never got.¹

Tax Reporting on the Payment

An underpayment you receive on behalf of a deceased beneficiary may carry tax consequences. The SSA reports benefit payments on Form SSA-1099, and a lump-sum underpayment can be reported for the tax year you receive it. Whether it’s actually taxable depends on your total income and filing status, following the same rules that apply to regular Social Security benefits. If the amount is large enough to affect your tax picture, a tax professional can advise on whether to elect to apply the payment to an earlier tax year, which the IRS allows in some circumstances for lump-sum Social Security payments.

1
Social Security Administration. Form SSA-1724 – Claim for Amounts Due in the Case of Deceased Beneficiary
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 404 – Overpayments and Underpayments
3
USA.gov. Report the Death of a Social Security or Medicare Beneficiary
4
Social Security Administration. Lump-Sum Death Payment