Estate CPA discusses Form 1041 and NC Form A101

Please accept our condolences on your personal loss. Unfortunately, when a loved one passes on, a myriad of unique government obligations arise. Truly bad timing. IRS Form 1041 and NC A101 tax preparation can be among these unpleasant duties.

The IRS instructions for Form 1041 tax preparation (Estates and Trusts) go on for over 40 pages, detailing issues for all the Schedules (A, B, D, G, I, J and K-1). Estate income tax returns must be filed for any estate that retains income-earning assets (stocks, rental properties, etc.) as of the end of the year.

Do You Need a Estate CPA for Form 1041 Tax Preparation?

Maybe not. But if you decide that preparing it yourself is not going to work, please call us. If you read any of our tax preparation posts, you’ll see we advocate self-preparation and using lower tiered tax preparers when appropriate. Not every IRS interaction requires a CPA. But preparing tax Form 1041, and the associated NC A101 return, is daunting. And often made worse by the grieving process.

“Unlike Form 1040, where many taxpayers can gain sufficient experience over the years to tackle a moderately complex return, Form 1041 is usually prepared only once or twice. Most tax preparation software doesn’t even cover the associated NC A101.”
- Gary Bode, Estate CPA and Tax Accountant

Self IRS Form 1041 Tax Preparation with Intuit’s TurboTax

TurboTax, one of the QuickBooks affiliated tax software divisions, offers stand alone Form 1041 tax preparation software for Estates and Trusts. While we don’t recommend a hand-prepared tax Form 1041, some folks can prepare an Estate or Trust return using Intuit TurboTax software, albeit augmented with the IRS Form 1041 instructions. This goes for around $180, which includes a State return, if available. TurboTax is excellent software. Some CPAs use it. Last we heard, Intuit TurboTax doesn’t support the associated NC A101.

Most Tax Preparers Don’t Handle IRS Form 1041 Tax Preparation

The major tax chains like Liberty Tax, H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt don’t generally offer Form 1041 tax preparation. The highly advertised tax resolution firms like TaxMasters, Roni Deutch, and JK Harris specialize in Offers in Compromise, not Estates and Trusts, IRS Form 1041. Non-CPA tax accountants don’t prepare a lot of these either, generally speaking, in our experience, preferring to offer standard tax preparation, accounting and payroll accounting services.

I’m an Estate CPA located in Wilmington NC. But we have a virtual office to serve long distance clients. There are hundreds of posts on this website that should help you gauge our abilities and attitude. Please call (910) 399-2705 for a free consult about your particular tax issues.