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For 2026, a trust reaches the top federal rate above $16,000 of taxable income. A single filer reaches it above $640,600. We decide with you how much to distribute.
Call (866) 681-2140 to talk to us about the estate.
We prepare Form 1041 and a K-1 for each beneficiary, so the beneficiary returns agree with the trust
We split principal from income on each transaction, the allocation an executor is personally answerable for
A box of receipts is enough to start. We rebuild the accounting from it, so no spreadsheet is needed first
Estate and trust taxation covers four returns and the accounting underneath them. That work has five parts:
The decedent’s final return. Form 1040 covering January 1 to the date of death.
The fiduciary return. Form 1041 for the estate or trust, plus the state fiduciary return where the state taxes the trust’s income, and we issue a Schedule K-1 to each beneficiary. Detail on Form 1041 and the K-1.
The accounting. We sort each receipt and payment into principal or income. Both the tax and each beneficiary’s share depend on that split.
The estate tax return, where it applies. Estate tax services apply above the exclusion, $15,000,000 for 2026 deaths. Below it, we can still file Form 706 to pass the unused exclusion to a surviving spouse.
Gift tax returns. Form 709 where gifts to one person in a year passed the annual exclusion.
A lawyer drafts trusts, wills and powers of attorney and handles a contested estate. We handle the tax side, including estate planning.
An executor may owe four returns after a death, each with its own deadline:
| Return | Who files | Due | Extension |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final Form 1040 | Executor or surviving spouse | April 15 of the year after death, or the next business day | 6 months, as for any individual return |
| Form 1041 | The estate or trust | 15th day of the 4th month after its tax year ends | 5½ months on Form 7004 |
| Form 706 | Executor, where the estate is over the exclusion | 9 months after death | 6 months on Form 4768, automatic if filed on time. The tax is still due at 9 months |
| Form 706, portability only | Executor of an estate not otherwise required to file | Up to 5 years after death | None needed |
An estate can choose a fiscal year. A trust generally uses the calendar year.
A qualified revocable trust can elect under section 645, on Form 8855, to file as part of the estate and use its fiscal year. The form is due with the estate’s first Form 1041, extensions included, and you cannot revoke it.
If someone dies early in the year, the prior year’s return may also be due within weeks.
Tell us the date of death and what the estate holds, and we set the calendar.
The IRS applies four 2026 bands to a trust’s taxable income, with 37 percent applying above $16,000:
Retained. A trust holding $50,000 of investment income and paying none out pays 37 percent on the amount above $16,000.
Distributed. The IRS taxes the same $50,000 paid out on the beneficiary’s return at the beneficiary’s rate.
We make that decision with you before year end. You can elect to count distributions made in the first 65 days of the next year toward the prior one. The IRS adjusts these figures each year; these are for 2026.
Where a trust reaches the 37 percent rate
Same rate. Same year. Forty times the income to reach it.
Each dollar an estate receives or pays is either principal or income.
Get the split wrong and the tax is wrong. A fiduciary who underpays a beneficiary can also be personally liable for the loss, depending on the state and the instrument.
We allocate it transaction by transaction and show our work, so a beneficiary or a court can follow each entry.
Attorneys and their clients hire us all the time to run projections, tax projections or tax consulting for these type of situations.
Probate attorneys handle the law. We handle the arithmetic underneath it, working alongside counsel.
Form 1041 preparation is a flat fee, set by how much work the estate actually contains rather than by hours logged. Two things move it: whether the estate sold property or stock during the year, and how many beneficiaries there are to allocate between.
Every quote includes twenty minutes of review before filing. The decedent's final 1040, any unfiled prior years, the EIN application and Form 706 are quoted separately, because they are separate work.
Rebuilding the accounting from raw statements is its own quote and is never inside the filing fee. Your quote comes in writing before we begin, and nothing is billed that was not quoted first.
A beneficiary owes no federal income tax on the inheritance itself. The estate pays any estate tax above the exclusion.
You’ve already paid tax on this money when you are earning it actively, and then all of a sudden it gets taxed again when it goes to your child or your grandchild or whoever it’s going to. So proper estate planning is very important.
I reached out to Dimov Tax Specialists for help in preparing the taxes for my sister’s estate, and they couldn’t have been more helpful. Aside from delivering and filing a complex tax return, they were continually responsive over email day and night.
Our team includes CPAs and Enrolled Agents who work on individual returns, business taxes and tax planning. Tell us what you need help with when you get in touch.
A court letter and no idea what to file first is a normal starting point.
Tell us roughly what the estate holds, how many beneficiaries there are, and whether anything has been sold. That is enough to quote the estate and trust tax services it needs before any work begins.
General information, not advice for your circumstances. Speak to a CPA before acting on it, because the answer depends on the trust instrument, the state and the numbers.
