ITR of deceased person: How to file income tax return of deceased person?

Every salaried individual whose total income exceeds the basic exemption limit is required to file the ITR. If a person dies with an income that exceeds the threshold limit, his or her legal heirs must pay the tax. The legal heirs of such a deceased person are required to pay the tax dues and may be subject to interest and/or penalty if the tax due is not paid and/or the deceased's ITR is not filed. That is, if the deceased's legal heir does not file an ITR, the latter will face penalties. The procedure, documents, and steps for filing an ITR for a deceased person are outlined below.

Documents required

• The Deceased's PAN Card
• The deceased's surname
• The deceased's middle name
• The deceased's first name
• Death Date
• Legal heir's bank account information

Who is eligible for filing the deceased's ITR?

In an ideal world, the legal heir who would be required to file the ITR would be determined by the deceased's Will, if any. In the absence of a Will, the spouse or any of the children (i.e., surviving family members) may be considered the legal representative, and any of them may file the return.
According to the law, in the case of a deceased person who died during the year, the legal heir is responsible for filing the return until the date of death. However, for the remainder of the fiscal year (i.e., post-death), the executor of the deceased's estate is responsible for filing returns until the estate's assets are distributed to the legal heir/s

Who is the legal heir?

A legal heir is a person who legally represents the deceased's assets.The following documents are accepted as legal heir proof:

• The certificate of legal heirship
• The certificate issued by the local revenue authorities to the surviving family members.
• The deceased's registered will
• The certificate of family pension issued by the state or central government.
• Surviving family members' certificates

What if the legal heir fails to file an ITR?

If a legal heir fails to file the ITR of a deceased person before the deadline (December 31, 2021 for FY 2020-21), he may face severe penalties for noncompliance. It may include a penalty under Section 270A equal to 50% of the tax that the taxpayer could have avoided by failing to file the ITR, prosecution under Section 276CC, and so on.

How to File an ITR for a Deceased Person?

Step 1: Go to the official website of the 'e-Filing' Portal at https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/.
Step 2: Navigate to the 'My Account' menu and select 'Register as Representative.'
Step 3: Select 'New Request' as the 'Request Type' and 'Deceased (Legal Heir)' as the 'Category to Register,' and then click 'Proceed.'
Step 4: Press the 'Submit' button. Once completed, a success message confirming the submission of a request to 'Register as Legal Heir' will be displayed.
It should be noted that the request is routed to the e-Filing admin for approval.
The e-Filing Admin then validates the request details and decides whether to approve or reject the request. When a request is approved or rejected, an email and SMS are sent to the user who submitted it.