Taxes

The fiduciary has responsibility to file taxes on behalf of the decedent and the estate, and to pay any taxes that may be due to the federal, state or local government.  This office cannot provide tax advice.  Those needing assistance are strongly encouraged to seek professional advice.

The fiduciary is required to provide a Tax Certificate with the final account evidencing the due diligence of the fiduciary in paying taxes due from the estate, including federal and state estate taxes.

A copy of the Tax Certificate form can be found in the Estate Forms section of this website.

Where the estate is clearly subject to federal estate taxes (currently over $12 million in assets for persons who died in 2022),  the commissioner will also require evidence of the filing of federal and Virginia estate tax returns, usually in the form of copies of the first three pages of the federal return and a copy of the Virginia return, if any is to be filed.