If a decedent earned income in the final year of life, filing final tax returns becomes mandatory. The  executor must file a final federal income tax return and a final state income tax return (if required) reporting all income earned by the decedent in the final year of life up until the day of death.

Usually, in a common estate, the executor will hire a tax professional, as recommended, to handle tax matters. However, this doesn’t exempt an executor from participating in the tax filing process. The executor should prepare the information needed by the tax professional. Otherwise, the tax professional will charge a substantial fee to handle all aspects of filing the final tax returns.

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