IRS letter received after filing deceased mother's final return - now they claim I owe $4000

This is actually a fairly common situation, and you have options, so try not to panic. When you receive an IRS notice like this after someone has passed away, it doesn't automatically mean you personally owe this money. First, check if the letter is addressed to "The Estate of [your mother's name]" or to you personally. If it's to the estate, this is about your mother's tax obligation, not yours. As the executor, you handled the estate according to proper procedure by paying debts before distributing assets. Second, you should request your mother's tax transcripts from the IRS to see what years they're referring to and what information they're using. You can do this online or by mail using Form 4506-T. Third, consider responding with a letter explaining the situation - that the estate has been closed and distributed, and there are no assets remaining to pay additional tax obligations. Include a copy of the death certificate. In many cases, if there truly are no assets left in the estate, the IRS may determine the debt to be uncollectible. You generally aren't personally responsible for a deceased person's tax debts unless you were a joint filer or co-owner of property.

I was in a similar situation with my dad's estate last year. It was super stressful trying to figure out what forms were even missing! I finally used taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to help sort through all the IRS notices and figure out what was actually going on. I uploaded the IRS letter, my dad's last tax return, and some other paperwork I had, and their AI analyzed everything and explained what the IRS was actually claiming in plain English. Turned out there was unreported income from an old investment account I didn't know about. Their experts helped me understand exactly what I needed to dispute vs. what was legitimate. They also gave me templates for how to respond to the IRS, including exactly what to say about the estate being closed already. Saved me so much stress trying to decipher tax codes!

Just wanted to follow up - I ended up trying taxr.ai with my aunt's tax situation after reading about it here. Seriously impressed with how it worked. I uploaded the confusing IRS notice that claimed she owed back taxes from before she died, and it immediately decoded all the IRS codes and technical terms. The analysis showed the IRS was claiming income from a pension that was actually already reported, just on a different form. The system generated a perfect response letter citing the exact line on her original return where the income was reported. I included that with copies of her original return documents and sent it certified mail. Just got confirmation yesterday that the case was closed with no taxes due! Would've paid an accountant hundreds to figure this out, and instead got it resolved in a couple days. Definitely recommend for anyone dealing with IRS notices for deceased relatives.

If you need to actually talk to someone at the IRS about this (which you probably do), good luck getting through! I spent 3 weeks trying to reach someone about a similar issue with my mother-in-law's estate. After being on hold for hours multiple times, I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) - they somehow get you to the front of the IRS phone queue. I was super skeptical, but they have this video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I tried it, and within 15 minutes I was actually talking to a real IRS agent instead of listening to that awful hold music for hours! The agent was able to put a hold on collections while I gathered documentation to prove we had properly handled the estate. Talking directly to an agent made all the difference - they explained what specific forms were missing and gave me a direct fax number to send documentation.

I'm eating my words here. After posting that skeptical comment yesterday, I decided to try Claimyr myself for this exact situation with my brother's estate. I was CONVINCED it wouldn't work. Well, I was wrong. Used the service this morning, and within 20 minutes I was connected to an actual IRS representative. The person I spoke with pulled up my brother's record, confirmed exactly which tax years were in question, and explained that as the executor, I needed to file Form 56 (Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship) along with a response to their notice. She even put notes in the system about our conversation and gave me a specific timeframe extension since I explained the estate was already closed. Having a real conversation instead of trying to interpret a form letter made a huge difference. I'm still shocked this actually worked.

Make sure you don't ignore this! I made that mistake with my grandmother's estate and ended up with a lien against property that was in her name but had been transferred to me. Had to pay not just the taxes but all kinds of penalties and interest. The main thing is to respond before the deadline on the letter. Even if you just write back saying you need more time to gather information, that's better than not responding at all.

Did you file the Form 1041 (final estate tax return)? This is different from your mom's personal final 1040. A lot of people don't realize they need to file this separate form for the estate itself, especially if there was any income to the estate after death (like interest, dividends, etc).

I went through something very similar with my father's estate two years ago. The stress and confusion you're feeling is completely normal - these IRS notices can be incredibly overwhelming, especially when you thought everything was properly handled. A few important points to keep in mind: 1. You are likely NOT personally liable for your mother's tax debts. As others mentioned, this depends on whether the notice is addressed to you personally or to "The Estate of [Mother's Name]." 2. The fact that you distributed assets after paying known debts and expenses doesn't necessarily create personal liability, especially if you had no knowledge of additional tax obligations at the time. 3. Document everything! Keep copies of all correspondence, your mother's final tax return, death certificate, and any estate settlement documents. One thing I learned is that the IRS often has incomplete information when they send these notices. Sometimes they're missing forms that were actually filed, or they have outdated address information that caused notices to go to the wrong place initially. Don't let this consume you - there are solutions, and many of these situations get resolved once you provide the proper documentation. The key is responding promptly and getting the right information to the right people at the IRS.

I'm so sorry you're going through this - dealing with unexpected tax issues after losing a parent is incredibly stressful. The good news is that you're not alone in this situation, and there are definitely steps you can take. First, don't panic about personal liability. As others have mentioned, if you acted in good faith as executor and distributed assets after paying all known debts, you're likely protected. The key word here is "known" - if the IRS is now claiming taxes were owed that you had no way of knowing about when you settled the estate, that's a very different situation than if you had ignored known tax obligations. I'd recommend taking these immediate steps: 1. Carefully read the notice to see if it's addressed to you personally or to your mother's estate 2. Call the phone number on the notice and ask for a payment plan or hardship consideration if needed - explain that the estate has been closed and distributed 3. Request copies of the tax transcripts the IRS is using to make this determination (you can do this online) 4. Consider reaching out to a tax professional or the Taxpayer Advocate Service if you're getting nowhere with regular IRS channels Remember, the IRS deals with estate situations like this regularly. They have procedures for when estates have been closed and assets distributed. Stay calm, respond promptly, and document everything. You've got this!