DATE OF DECEDENTS DEATH

[AMWCPA]

WHEN COMPLETING A FINAL FORM 1040 FOR A DECEDENT DO YOU THE CALENDAR YEAR

OR DATE OF DEATH SAY 8.4.2019-12.3

[qbteachmt]

A person dies on One Date. Not in a date range.

[BobKamman]

Nice try, considering the question makes no sense.  

[Accountant-Man]

A person has only one kind of 1040, all of it.

[Terry53029]

@AMWCPA  are you asking if you file a short tax year, the answer is no for an individual. Could you give more details to your question (as @TaxGuyBill   said, "no charge for extra words") 

[qbteachmt]

"if you file a short tax year"

Oooh, good mind-reading attempt.

[Terry53029]

been getting lessons from @IRonMaN  😁 

[IRonMaN]

The next virtual mind reading is going to be scheduled for............................ never mind ----------------- for anybody that has been attending for this long, they should just know when the next class is.

[BobKamman]

Treasury Regulations § 1.443-1

(a) Returns for short period. A return for a short period, that is, for a taxable year consisting of a period of less than 12 months, shall be made under any of the following circumstances: . . .

(2) Taxpayer not in existence for entire taxable year. If a taxpayer is not in existence for the entire taxable year, a return is required for the short period during which the taxpayer was in existence.. . .Although the return of a decedent is a return for the short period beginning with the first day of his last taxable year and ending with the date of his death, the filing of a return and the payment of tax for a decedent may be made as though the decedent had lived throughout his last taxable year.

***

IRS used to accept returns filed before the end of the year for a decedent's final return.  I think they still do, but it confuses them.  You have to use the previous year's forms.  If someone dies in March and the survivors don't want to wait a year to settle the estate, it's an option, especially if there is no tax owed or a small balance due.  

[taxes96786]

You file a return for the year the client died and input his date of death. If he died in 2019 you don't do a 2020 return.