Q: How may a spouse obtain a copy of an estranged deceased spouse's wage and income tax record?
When I applied for financial aid I was told I needed my estranged spouse's tax information, I don't remember the name of the form, it's been some time. Which IRS form do I need to submit to IRS to obtain tax information from a spouse tax records?
A:
If your estranged spouse is deceased and you need a copy of their tax records, here are a few options to request them from the IRS:
- IRS Form 4506-T - Request for Transcript of Tax Return. This allows you to request a tax return transcript showing most line items from the tax return.
- IRS Form 4506 - Request for Copy of Tax Return. This allows you to request a full copy of the actual tax return filed.
- For requesting wage/income information, you can file IRS Form 4506T-EZ - Short Form Request for Individual Tax Return Transcript. This requests wage and income transcripts.
You will need to provide basic information like the deceased spouse's name, social security number, date of birth, the tax year(s) needed, and the deceased spouse's date of death. There is no fee to request a tax return transcript, but there may be a small per page fee for requesting full tax return copies.
Note that as the surviving spouse, you may already have access to copies of the tax returns filed jointly during the marriage. If possible, check your personal records first before requesting copies from the IRS. You typically need to be the spouse, power of attorney, or court-appointed representative to get the deceased person's tax information from the IRS.
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