When someone passes away, their final tax return still needs to be filed—and if they're owed a refund, that money doesn't disappear. The process of handling a deceased person's tax refund involves specific IRS procedures, paperwork requirements, and rules about who can claim it. Understanding how this works matters whether you're settling an estate, acting as an executor, or straightforward need to know what happens to a refund that was due.
These articles explain what steps the IRS takes when processing a return for someone who has died, what documentation you'll need to provide, how long the process typically takes, and how the refund gets distributed to the estate or beneficiaries. You'll also learn about the differences between filing a final return yourself versus having someone else handle it on behalf of the deceased.