Arkansas Form 1310: Claiming a Refund for a Deceased Person

The last tax return is one of the final administrative tasks in settling an estate, and it is one of the most commonly mishandled. A surviving spouse or estate administrator files on behalf of the deceased person, claims any refund owed, and — if the estate generated income after the death — files a second return covering the estate itself. Getting the sequence wrong, attaching the wrong form, or skipping the state return can delay a refund by months or result in it being sent to the wrong person.

Here is how the federal and Arkansas state income tax process works when a taxpayer has died.

The Final Federal Return: Form 1040

The final federal income tax return covers the period from January 1 of the year of death through the date of death. It is filed on the standard Form 1040, due on the normal April 15 deadline (or extended to October 15 if an extension is filed).

If the deceased person was owed a refund, the IRS will not automatically issue it to the estate. The refund is issued to the person who files the return — and who is authorized to receive it — based on which Form 1040 filing status applies and whether Form 1310 is required.

Surviving spouse filing jointly: If you are the surviving spouse and you file a joint return with your deceased spouse for the year of death, you do not need to attach IRS Form 1310. The refund will be issued to the surviving spouse as the joint filer, and no additional authorization is needed. This is the simplest scenario, and it applies in the majority of cases involving married couples where the surviving spouse intends to file jointly for the final year.

All other filers: If you are anyone other than a surviving spouse filing jointly — an adult child, an executor, a personal representative, or a surviving spouse filing separately — you must attach IRS Form 1310 (Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer) to the return.

IRS Form 1310: Who Completes It and How

Form 1310 is a one-page federal form that identifies the person claiming the refund and confirms the legal basis for the claim. The IRS uses it to verify that the refund reaches the appropriate person and not a stranger to the estate.

The form asks three questions:

Part I: Identifies your relationship to the deceased — surviving spouse, personal representative, or other person claiming the refund.

Part II: If you are a court-appointed personal representative, you attach a copy of the certificate of appointment (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the Arkansas probate court). If you are not a court-appointed representative, you confirm that no probate estate has been opened and that you are the surviving spouse or a person otherwise entitled to the refund under state law.

Part III: Requires you to certify that you will not cash the check in a way that violates any laws regarding the decedent's estate.

Form 1310 does not require notarization. It is attached directly to the 1040 return when filed.

An important procedural note: if you have Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the probate court, you can sometimes file without Form 1310 by attaching a certified copy of those letters instead. However, many practitioners attach Form 1310 regardless because it reduces the risk of the return being kicked back for additional documentation.

The Arkansas State Income Tax Return

Arkansas imposes a state income tax, and the final state return mirrors the federal process. The Arkansas state income tax return for a deceased person is filed on the standard AR1 form, covering the same period as the federal return — January 1 through the date of death.

Arkansas does not have a state equivalent of IRS Form 1310. Instead, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) follows the same rule as the IRS: if the surviving spouse files jointly, no additional authorization form is needed. For all other filers, attach a copy of your legal authorization to claim the refund — either a copy of Letters Testamentary or a brief written statement of your relationship and authority.

If the deceased owed Arkansas state income tax (rather than being owed a refund), that obligation becomes a claim against the probate estate. The estate's personal representative is responsible for paying outstanding tax liabilities from estate assets before distributing anything to heirs.

The Arkansas final return is due on the same schedule as the federal return: April 15 of the year following the death, with an extension available to October 15.

When You Also Need to File a Form 1041 Estate Income Tax Return

The final individual return covers income the deceased person earned before they died. It does not cover income the estate generates after the death. That is a separate tax obligation.

If the estate receives income after the date of death — interest on estate bank accounts, rental income from property, dividends on securities held by the estate, or income from a business interest — a separate income tax return is required. At the federal level, this is filed on Form 1041 (U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts).

Form 1041 applies when the estate has gross income of $600 or more during the tax year. For most small estates with few financial assets, this threshold is rarely reached. But estates that hold interest-bearing accounts, investment portfolios, or income-producing property through the administration period often generate enough post-death income to trigger the filing requirement.

Arkansas has a corresponding state estate income tax return — the AR1 (filed with a "fiduciary" designation) — for estates generating income subject to Arkansas state income tax. The personal representative or trustee is responsible for filing this return and paying any tax owed from estate assets.

Common Errors and How to Avoid Them

Sending the return to the wrong IRS address. Returns with Form 1310 attached are processed differently from standard individual returns in some IRS processing centers. File by mail when attaching Form 1310, and use the correct mailing address for your state listed in the IRS Form 1310 instructions. Electronic filing is often not available for returns with Form 1310.

Filing too early without authorization. If the estate is in probate and Letters Testamentary have not yet been issued, wait until you have the letters before filing, rather than claiming you have no legal authority as a personal representative. The IRS processes personal representative claims more cleanly with documentation attached.

Missing the state return. Arkansas surviving family members who handle the federal return through a tax preparer sometimes assume the state return is included. Confirm explicitly whether the preparer is filing both the federal 1040 and the Arkansas AR1, and whether the estate income return (if applicable) is in scope.

Confusing the final return and the estate return. These are two separate filings with separate purposes. The final individual return covers the decedent's income through the date of death. The estate return covers the estate's income after the date of death. A family that files only the final individual return and ignores the estate income return may be leaving a tax obligation unaddressed.

Failing to apply for a refund at all. In the disruption of bereavement, some families simply do not file the final return and forfeit the refund entirely. The IRS generally has a three-year window to claim a refund. Missing that window means the money stays with the government permanently.

Where Tax Obligations Fit in Estate Administration

Income tax filings are part of a larger sequence of financial obligations in the first year after a death. The estate cannot be fully distributed to heirs until all debts and taxes are addressed, and that sequence matters: outstanding tax liabilities take priority over most distributions.

If you are managing an Arkansas estate and the full picture — pension notifications, property tax filings, health insurance elections, DHS benefit applications, and now income tax returns — feels overwhelming, the Arkansas Survivor Benefits Navigator organizes the complete administrative checklist in deadline order, so nothing is missed and nothing is filed out of sequence.

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