Updated September 29, 2026. Quick answer: Box 10 of a Schedule K-1 (Form 1041) is the estate tax deduction. If the estate or trust distributed income in respect of a decedent (IRD) to you, you may be entitled to deduct the part of the estate tax attributable to it, claimed on Schedule A.
What Box 10 is
The instructions read here are the 2025 edition of the IRS Instructions for Schedule K-1 (Form 1041) for a Beneficiary Filing Form 1040 or 1040-SR (Catalog Number 11374Z, dated March 13, 2025), the edition served at the IRS standing PDF address when read on September 29, 2026. They are written for the beneficiary; the fiduciary’s own instructions are in the Instructions for Form 1041. The IRS heading for the box is “Estate Tax Deduction (Including Certain Generation-Skipping Transfer Taxes)”, with the instruction: “If an estate or trust distributes IRD to a beneficiary, the beneficiary is entitled to deduct the portion of the estate tax imposed on the decedent’s estate which is attributable to the IRD distributed to the beneficiary.”
Where it goes
“You may claim this amount on line 16 of Schedule A (Form 1040).” The form’s page 2 lists the same:
| Code | Form label | Report on (form’s code list) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Estate tax deduction | Schedule A, line 16 |
How the amount is computed
“For an example of how this amount was computed, see Regulations section 1.691(c)-2 and Pub. 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators.”
Where IRD shows up in the income boxes
IRD is income the decedent had earned but not received. The instructions say Box 5 “also includes income in respect of a decedent (IRD)”. See the Boxes 1 to 5 page. CMG’s page on an estate as the IRA beneficiary covers one common source of IRD.
Common mistakes
- Reading Box 10 as an estate tax bill. It is a deduction the beneficiary may claim.
- Claiming it without IRD. The instruction ties the deduction to IRD distributed to the beneficiary.
- Looking for it on Schedule 1. The instructions send it to Schedule A.
Related: Schedule K-1 (Form 1041) Boxes 6 to 9: Business and Rental, Schedule K-1 Box 11 Code A: Excess Deductions 67(e), and what a K-1 from an estate reports.
Every box and code in one place: the Schedule K-1 (Form 1041) boxes table. What a K-1 from an estate reports overall is on the Schedule K-1 for estates page.
Sources
- IRS, Instructions for Schedule K-1 (Form 1041) for a Beneficiary Filing Form 1040 or 1040-SR (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1041sk1.pdf
- IRS, Schedule K-1 (Form 1041) 2025, Beneficiary’s Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc., page 2 code list: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1041sk1.pdf
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How our partner relationships workSource: the IRS instructions for the beneficiary who receives Schedule K-1 (Form 1041), and the form’s own code list, read at irs.gov on September 29, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the estate’s or trust’s fiduciary or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.