Colorado Form DR 0102: Claiming a Deceased Person's State Tax Refund

The decedent's final Colorado income tax return shows a refund. The Colorado Department of Revenue won't release it to you. Now what?

This is a surprisingly common situation, and the solution is a single form that most surviving family members and executors don't know exists: Colorado Form DR 0102, the Claim for Refund on Behalf of a Deceased Taxpayer.

What DR 0102 Is and When You Need It

When a Colorado taxpayer dies with a state income tax refund owing on their final return, the Colorado DOR cannot simply send that refund check to whoever files the return. The refund belongs to the estate or the surviving spouse, and the DOR requires documentation proving the claimant has legal authority to receive it.

Form DR 0102 is the mechanism for establishing that authority. It's a straightforward form — not long — but it requires specific supporting documentation that varies depending on who is claiming the refund.

You need DR 0102 any time you're:

• Filing the decedent's final Colorado individual income tax return (Form DR 0104) and a refund is due
• Claiming a refund from a prior year's unfiled or corrected return

You do not file DR 0102 for the estate's separate fiduciary return (Form DR 0105) — that's a different entity with its own EIN, and refunds on that return go to the estate account directly.

Who Can File and What Documentation Is Required

The required documentation differs depending on your relationship to the decedent and whether a formal probate case is open.

Surviving spouse filing a joint return. If you're filing a joint return for you and your deceased spouse and a refund is due, you can generally file without DR 0102 — you sign the return as the surviving spouse. However, if the state questions the refund or requires additional verification, having DR 0102 ready is useful.

Surviving spouse filing a separate return for the decedent. Complete DR 0102 and attach a copy of the death certificate. No Letters Testamentary are required if you're the surviving spouse.

Court-appointed executor or personal representative. Complete DR 0102 and attach both a certified death certificate and a certified copy of the Letters Testamentary issued by the Colorado district court. The Letters Testamentary establish your legal authority to act on behalf of the estate.

Person other than a spouse or executor. If no probate is open and no Letters Testamentary exist (common in small estate situations), you can still claim the refund — but you must complete DR 0102 and attach the death certificate plus a statement explaining your relationship to the decedent and why no probate case was opened. The DOR evaluates these on a case-by-case basis and may request additional documentation.

How to Submit DR 0102

This is where the process trips people up. Colorado requires that DR 0102 and the death certificate be submitted through a specific channel: the Revenue Online portal's "Submit an E-Filer Attachment" function. You cannot mail the death certificate separately and expect it to be matched to your return automatically.

The process:

1. File the final DR 0104 return (either electronically or by mail, marking it "DECEASED" in the taxpayer name area with the date of death)
2. Log in to Revenue Online at revenue.colorado.gov
3. Use the "Submit an E-Filer Attachment" option to upload the death certificate and completed DR 0102

If you file the return by paper mail instead of electronically, you can mail DR 0102 and the death certificate together with the return to:

Colorado Department of Revenue
Denver, CO 80261-0005

When mailing a paper return, write "DECEASED" and the date of death at the top of the return. The personal representative signs the return and notes their title (e.g., "Personal Representative" or "Executor").

The "DECEASED" Notation and Signature Requirements

The DOR has specific requirements for how the final individual return must be handled:

Taxpayer name line. Write the decedent's name as it would normally appear, then add "DECEASED" and the date of death. Example: "John D. Smith, DECEASED 03/15/2026."

Signature line. The personal representative or surviving spouse signs the return. They should add their own name and title below the signature line — for example, "Jane Smith, Personal Representative" or "Jane Smith, Surviving Spouse."

Refund check payee. On DR 0102, you specify who the refund check should be made out to. This is important: the check will be issued in the name you designate. For most estates, this should be "Estate of [Decedent Name]" rather than an individual's name, particularly if the estate has its own checking account. If a surviving spouse is the sole heir and no probate is open, the check can be made out to the surviving spouse.

Don't Miss the Tax Refund

Executors often focus on what the estate owes — creditors, taxes, probate fees — and overlook what's owed to the estate. A tax refund is an estate asset. Failing to claim it means that money stays with the government rather than going to the heirs.

Run through this checklist before assuming no refund is due:

• Did the decedent have Colorado income tax withheld from wages, pension, or Social Security?
• Did the decedent make estimated tax payments during the year?
• Were there overpayments from prior years applied to the current year?
• Is there an amended return (DR 0104X) that might generate a refund?

Tax software will calculate whether a refund is due when you input the decedent's W-2s, 1099s, and other income documents. For the final return covering January 1 through the date of death, you report only the income actually received during that period — not income paid to the estate after death (which goes on the DR 0105 fiduciary return).

The Colorado Final Tax & Estate Tax Guide includes complete instructions for the final individual return, the fiduciary return, Form DR 0102, and the document collection process — consolidated so you're not piecing together DOR instructions from four different government pages. If the estate generated refunds on both the individual return and the fiduciary return, the guide walks through how to handle each separately.

Common Mistakes That Delay Refunds

Using the decedent's SSN for post-death estate income. After the date of death, the estate's EIN is used for all estate accounts and tax filings. Using the SSN creates confusion between the individual return and the estate return.

Mailing the death certificate to the wrong address. Colorado has specific mailing addresses for different return types. Refund claims go to the address above; tax payments go to a different processing center. Check the current DOR instructions for the mailing address applicable to your specific situation.

Not noting "DECEASED" on the return. Returns that don't clearly identify the taxpayer as deceased can be processed as standard returns, generating notices or rejects when the DOR's systems flag the missing signature or the SSN as belonging to a deceased individual.

Filing DR 0102 for the estate entity. Remember — DR 0102 is for refunds on the decedent's individual return. Refunds on the estate's separate DR 0105 fiduciary return are handled through the estate's own filing and go to the estate directly.

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