Filing of return of a deceased assesee

The legal heir can file the return on behalf of the deceased person. Where the return asks for the name of the assessee, the answer should be “late (name of deceased) through legal heir (name of person filing)”. Along with the return, the legal heir will also have to submit a copy of the death certificate and surrender the permanent account number (PAN) card of the deceased.

Incidentally, while the dead person is entitled to all the deductions and exemptions for the entire year, he is taxed only for the income earned till his death. After his expiry, the income from the assets of the dead person and the tax liability is transferred to the legal heir(s).

Suppose the assessee died in may 2009. His legal heir will have to file the return on behalf of the deceased for the financial year 2008-9 as also for 2009-10 (for income earned up to may 2009) in the next assessment year.