Trusts and Estates

Trust and estate tax preparation involves preparing income tax returns for trusts, estates, and their beneficiaries. This service supports trustees, executors, personal representatives, and beneficiaries who need to report income earned by trust assets or estate holdings. We prepare Form 1041 for trusts and estates, as well as K-1 forms for beneficiaries showing their share of income, deductions, and credits.

The process begins with gathering trust documents, estate inventory records, and income information from banks, brokerage firms, and property managers. We review the trust or estate instrument to understand the tax classification and distribution requirements. We identify all income sources including interest, dividends, rental income, capital gains, and business income attributable to the trust or estate.

We calculate the income tax liability using the appropriate tax rates and prepare the necessary allocations to beneficiaries. For estates, we handle income earned after the date of death through the final distribution. For trusts, we prepare returns for simple trusts, complex trusts, and grantor trusts with different reporting requirements. We also prepare fiduciary income tax returns for estates during the administration period.

Typical documents include trust agreements, estate inventory documents, bank statements, investment account statements, rental property records, K-1 forms from partnerships or S corporations, and records of distributions made to beneficiaries. We provide organized records of income allocations and tax payments made on behalf of the trust or estate. This service helps fiduciaries in Boston, MA comply with federal and state tax reporting requirements for trusts and estates.