Trusts and estates
Trust and estate tax returns, handled with care.
If you are settling an estate or serving as trustee, there are tax returns that come with the role. We prepare them, explain what they mean and keep the deadlines off your shoulders.
What we prepare
The returns that come with the role.
Executors and trustees are often surprised there is a return at all. Here is what usually needs filing.
Form 1041
Fiduciary income tax returns
The income tax return for an estate or trust. It covers income the estate or trust earns after the date of death, which is separate from the person’s own final return.
Schedule K-1
Beneficiary statements
When income passes through to beneficiaries, each one needs a K-1 to report on their own return. We prepare them and explain what the numbers mean.
Final return
The decedent’s last individual return
The final personal return covering the year through the date of death. It is often filed alongside the first fiduciary return.
Trusts
Ongoing trust returns
Revocable trusts that become irrevocable, grantor trusts and trusts that keep filing for years. We pick up existing trusts as well as new ones.
New York
State filings
New York has its own fiduciary filing requirements alongside the federal return. We handle both so nothing is missed.
Coordination
Working with your attorney
Estates usually involve an attorney handling the legal side. We stay in our lane on tax and coordinate so you are not relaying messages.
Who this is for
You do not have to have done this before.
- You are the executor or personal representative of an estate
- You are the trustee of a family trust, whether it is new or long running
- A parent or spouse passed away and you are not sure what has to be filed
- You received a K-1 from an estate or trust and do not know what to do with it
- You are an attorney looking for a tax preparer to work alongside
- A trust has been filing for years and you would like it handled more proactively
Worth knowing
A few things that catch people out.
None of this is urgent reading. It is the sort of thing we would walk you through anyway.
Trusts reach the top tax rate quickly
Trusts hit the highest bracket at a far lower income than individuals do. Whether income stays in the trust or is distributed to beneficiaries can change the tax meaningfully, and timing matters.
Estates can choose their year end
An estate is not locked into a calendar year the way individuals are. Choosing the year end thoughtfully on the first return can help, and it is a decision you only get to make once.
Income tax and estate tax are different things
People often use estate tax to mean both. The fiduciary income tax return is about income the estate earns. Whether an estate tax return is required is a separate question, at both the federal and New York level.
What to expect
Three steps, at your pace.
Tell us the situation
A short conversation about who passed away or which trust is involved, and what has happened so far. There is no wrong amount to know at this stage.
We work out what has to be filed
We tell you which returns are required, which are not and when they are due, before any work starts.
We prepare and walk you through it
We file the returns, get the K-1s to beneficiaries and explain in plain English what each person needs to do with them.
Tax + wealth
Planning ahead, not just filing after.
Settling an estate often raises questions about what happens next for the family. Through our partnership with Silver Grove Financial Group, there is an estate and financial planning team to bring in when that conversation comes up.
Not sure what has to be filed?
That is the most common place people start. Reach out and we will tell you where you stand.
The fine print
Sterling Tax & Accounting, Inc. prepares fiduciary and related tax returns. We are not attorneys and nothing on this page is legal advice. Administering an estate or trust involves legal steps that sit with your attorney, and we are glad to work alongside them. Estate and financial planning services are provided by Silver Grove Financial Group. Filing requirements depend on the specific facts of the estate or trust.