Taxes
Helping Family: When a Gift Requires Form 709
A 2026 guide to the federal gift-tax annual exclusion, Form 709, direct tuition and medical payments, noncash valuation, gift splitting, basis, and records.
The Taxes desk
Taxes
Filing status, final returns, basis, and the years of filing alone.
36 guides · page 2 of 2
Taxes
Which Tax Records to Keep After a Spouse Dies, and for How Long
An IRS-sourced retention plan for final returns, estate filings, inherited-property basis, appraisals, home improvements, and secure digital copies.
Taxes
When You Cannot Pay a Tax Bill After a Spouse Dies
Verify who owes the tax, file on time, preserve essential liquidity, and compare IRS payment plans, collection delay, penalty relief, and settlement review.
Taxes
How to Choose a Tax Preparer After a Spouse Dies
Verify credentials, representation rights, estate-return experience, fees, security, and review controls before hiring a preparer after widowhood.
Taxes
Tax Identity Theft After Death: Form 14039 and Recovery
Respond to a duplicate-return rejection or suspicious IRS letter involving a deceased taxpayer, file Form 14039 correctly, and preserve the real return.
Taxes
Responding to an IRS Notice After Death
Classify an IRS notice sent after a spouse dies, preserve appeal rights, establish authority, and answer with a documented tax-year-specific response.
Taxes
How Social Security Benefits Are Taxed After Widowhood
Calculate provisional income, apply the 50% and 85% federal tiers, model filing-status changes and distributions, and set withholding after a spouse dies.
Taxes
Final-Year Medical Expenses: Payment, Return, and Deduction
Reconstruct final-year medical costs, subtract reimbursements, distinguish survivor and estate payments, evaluate the one-year election, and document Schedule A.
Taxes
Filing Status After a Spouse Dies: A Three-Year Tax Timeline
Map the year-of-death joint return, qualifying surviving spouse eligibility, later head-of-household or single status, and the resulting tax-planning changes.
Taxes
Estimated Tax After Death: Withholding, Safe Harbors, Deadlines
Project tax after a spouse's death, distinguish personal and estate obligations, compare withholding with estimates, apply safe harbors, and document payments.
Taxes
Income in Respect of a Decedent: Who Reports IRD and When
Identify income in respect of a decedent, assign it to the correct recipient, preserve its tax character, coordinate estate K-1s, and test deductions.
Taxes
Selling a Home After a Spouse Dies: Basis and the Gain Exclusion
Calculate inherited home basis, test the surviving-spouse home-sale exclusion, preserve improvement records, and model tax before choosing a closing date.
Taxes
Inherited Property Basis: Document the Tax Number Before You Sell
Understand date-of-death basis, joint and community property, valuation evidence, Form 8971 consistency, later adjustments, and sale reporting.
Taxes
Form 1041 for an Estate: A Fiduciary Income-Tax Guide
Learn when a decedent's estate must file Form 1041, how to separate income, choose a tax year, track distributions, and prepare beneficiary K-1s.
Taxes
Tax Refunds After Death: Form 1310 and Three Filing Paths
Determine who may claim a deceased taxpayer's refund, when Form 1310 or a court certificate is required, and how to protect amended-return deadlines.
Taxes
How to Prepare a Deceased Spouse's Final Individual Tax Return
Determine whether a final Form 1040 is required, allocate income correctly, verify deductions, coordinate signatures, claim refunds, and separate estate reporting.
Taxes
Filing Status When Your Spouse Dies: Year-of-Death Rules
Understand joint and separate filing in the year of death, qualifying surviving spouse rules, dependent-child tests, joint liability, and later-year planning.