Entering Date of Death for a Deceased Taxpayer and/or Spouse in Lacerte

To enter a date of death for Taxpayer:

1. Go to Screen 1, Client Information.
2. Scroll down to the Taxpayer Information section.
3. Enter the date in, Date of Death (M/D/YYYY).

To enter a date of death for Spouse:

1. Go to Screen 1, Client Information.
2. Scroll down to the Spouse Information section.
3. Enter the date in, Date of Death (M/D/YYYY).

Lacerte will print "Deceased: (spouse's name), (date of death)" at the top of the 1040, page 1. If the surviving spouse is filing the tax return with the Married Filing Joint status, Lacerte also prints "Filing as Surviving Spouse" in the signature area of Form 1040, page 2.

What needs to be completed for a Taxpayer and Spouse who have both passed away?

If both the Taxpayer and Spouse have passed away and the Taxpayer and Spouse are required to file a Tax Return because they meet the filing requirements or would be receiving a refund:

• All other filers requesting the deceased taxpayer's refund must file the return and attach Form 1310. See How to generate Form 1310 in Lacerte for more information.
• For more information on filing requirements for a Final income tax return for descendent see Publication 559.

To enter a Personal Representative in Lacerte:

1. Go to Screen 3, Miscellaneous Information/Direct Deposit.
2. In the Miscellaneous section, locate the Personal Representative subsection.
3. Enter the First name.
4. Enter the Last name.
5. Enter the SSN.
6. Enter the Address.
7. Enter the City.
8. Select the State from the drop down menu.
9. Enter the ZIP code.

Understanding Diagnostic Ref 6865

When entering a date of death outside of the current or next tax year you'll receive a diagnostic saying:

• The year of the taxpayer's date of death must equal either {CurrentTaxYear} or {NextTaxYear}.

Example: If you're trying to e-file a 2023 tax return, you can only enter 2023 or 2024 for the date of death. Entering a 2025 date will generate the error.

Any returns with a date of death outside of the Current and Next year window will need to be paper filed with the IRS.