For many Americans, tax season brings a flurry of paperwork, a dash of anxiety, and, if all goes well, a much-anticipated refund from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). But for the families of the recently deceased, the process is anything but routine. According to USA TODAY, beneficiaries waiting for tax refunds after a loved one’s death have faced delays that stretch far beyond the usual three-week turnaround most filers expect. In fact, from January 2021 through July 2024, it took the IRS an average of 444 calendar days—well over a year—to issue refunds due to the beneficiaries of deceased taxpayers.
This stark contrast with the agency’s typical 21-day refund timeline highlights a little-known but deeply frustrating bureaucratic challenge. As of July 2024, the IRS reported 440,443 cases of refunds owed on deceased taxpayers’ accounts, with the total amount exceeding $1.3 billion. Nearly half of those refunds had been delayed up to a year, 43% were between one and two years old, and a stubborn 9% had languished for more than two years.
Why does it take so long? The answer, it seems, lies in the paperwork. When someone dies, their survivors must often file IRS Form 1310 to claim a federal tax refund on their behalf. Unless the surviving spouse is filing a joint return or a court has confirmed a personal representative, this form is mandatory. But Form 1310 triggers a manual review process inside the IRS, and that’s where the bottlenecks begin, according to a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) cited by USA TODAY.
Manual processing, by its very nature, is slower and more prone to delays than the automated systems that handle most tax returns. And when you factor in the emotional toll of losing a loved one, the added administrative burden can feel overwhelming. “Losing a loved one is difficult and filing a final tax return should not cause undue burden in a difficult time,” the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA), an independent ombudsman for taxpayers, wrote in a blog post highlighted by USA TODAY. The NTA has called for reforms to make the process less painful for grieving families.
There is some good news: the IRS has made significant strides in clearing its backlog. As of August 2025, more than 70% of the delayed cases had been resolved, leaving about 1,100 returns still waiting to be processed, according to the NTA. The agency has also rolled out new measures for the 2025 tax filing season, aiming to reduce or even eliminate the need for manual intervention in many cases. These changes include allowing systemic refunds once Form 1310 or any other missing information is processed, the ability to find and prioritize overdue cases, and improved employee training to handle returns involving deceased taxpayers more efficiently, as reported by TIGTA.
Still, for those in the thick of managing a loved one’s estate, the process can be daunting. Experts interviewed by USA TODAY offered practical advice for those hoping to spare their families unnecessary hassle after they’re gone. Colleen Carcone, Director of Wealth Planning Strategies at TIAA, pointed out that the shift to online tax forms can make it difficult for survivors to even know what documents exist or how to access them. “In the past, we received all of our tax forms by mail, and so the person who was filing on behalf of the decedent could simply wait to collect mail and be assured that they had all of the decedent’s tax information,” Carcone explained. “Today, many tax forms are accessed online, making it difficult to know what information exists and how to access it.”
So, what can people do now to ease the burden on their heirs? Tyler End, chief executive and co-founder of the retirement advisory company Retirable, suggested that organization is key. “One of the biggest gifts you can give to beneficiaries is to be organized, with an updated will and where all the accounts are so they don't have to spend a lot of time locating everything,” End told USA TODAY. He also recommended consolidating accounts to simplify the tax filing process and reduce the number of forms survivors will need to track down. “As a bonus, fewer accounts might make managing your assets easier, too,” Carcone added.
Listing contacts for professionals who can help—such as accountants or financial advisors—can also make a world of difference. “It might be worth it to get a CPA (certified public accountant) to help get through this,” End advised. “It's not an auto-tax filing.” And for those who have the means, working with qualified professionals before death can help ensure that loved ones aren’t left navigating a maze of financial red tape alone. “A financial adviser is like a quarterback of the financial ecosystem,” End said. “They can be a resource that knows everything you own—life insurance, bank accounts, investment funds.”
While these practical steps can help families avoid some of the common pitfalls, there’s another wrinkle to the story that emerged from a surprising federal court ruling late last year. As reported by Dow Jones & Company, a court found that the tax code’s relaxed rules for disaster victims—combined with the presidential disaster declarations during the Covid-19 pandemic—effectively paused required tax-filing and payment deadlines between January 20, 2020, and July 10, 2023. If this ruling stands after possible appeals, it means that the traditional April 15 payment date and other IRS deadlines simply didn’t apply during that period. For many taxpayers, including those settling estates, this could have far-reaching implications for how late filings and payments are treated by the IRS.
It’s a development that has left tax professionals and ordinary Americans alike scratching their heads. The pandemic upended so many routines, and now it appears to have thrown the IRS’s calendar into disarray as well. For families waiting on refunds that are already delayed by months or even years, the court’s decision could introduce new uncertainties—or, perhaps, new hope for leniency in cases where deadlines were missed through no fault of their own.
With more than $1.3 billion in refunds still owed to the families of deceased taxpayers as of mid-2024, and the possibility of shifting deadlines due to legal challenges, the landscape for estate-related tax matters remains as complex as ever. But with the IRS working to modernize its processes and experts urging Americans to get their financial houses in order, there’s at least some reason for optimism. As the NTA put it, filing a final tax return shouldn’t add to the burden of grief. And with continued reforms, perhaps it won’t have to for much longer.