Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Schedule A is where real estate goes on the estate tax return. It lists land and buildings the decedent owned or had contracted to purchase, one numbered parcel at a time. The description comes from deeds and property records, and the value comes from an appraisal that is attached to the schedule.
IRS estate-administration forms, read line by line: Schedule A Form 8971.
What goes on Schedule A
The instructions open with the filing rule: “If the total gross estate contains any real estate, complete Schedule A (Form 706) and file it with the return.” They then say what to list: “list real estate the decedent owned or had contracted to purchase.” The numbering rule is “Number each parcel under column (i).”
Every schedule opens with the same caution. “If any assets to which the special rule of Regulations section 20.2010-2(a)(7)(ii) applies are reported on this schedule, do not enter any value in the last three columns.” It then points the reader to the instructions for Part V, item 10, which explain how to estimate and report the value of those assets.
How to describe each parcel
The description column is for identification. The instructions say “Describe the real estate in enough detail so that the IRS can easily locate it for inspection and valuation.” They add “For each parcel of real estate, report the area and, if the parcel is improved, describe the improvements.”
For city property the instructions list “the street and number, ward, subdivision, block and lot, etc.” For rural property they list “the township, range, landmarks, etc.” Real estate owned by a business is a separate case. The Schedule F page covers the rule that “If real estate is owned by a sole proprietorship, it should be reported on Schedule F (Form 706) and not on Schedule A (Form 706).”
Mortgaged property and property under contract
When the estate is liable on a mortgage, the instructions open with “If any item of real estate is subject to a mortgage for which the decedent’s estate is liable” and continue “you must report the full value of the property under column (v), Value at date of death. Enter the amount of the mortgage under column (ii), Description.”
When the estate is not liable, the instruction is to “report only the value of the equity of redemption” under the value column, and “Do not enter any amount less than zero.”
For property the decedent had agreed to buy, “Also list on Schedule A (Form 706) real property the decedent contracted to purchase.” The value rule is “Report the full value of the property and not the equity under column (v), Value at date of death.”
Where the number comes from
The value goes in the date-of-death column unless alternate valuation was elected. The instructions close the schedule with two requirements: “Explain how the reported values were determined and attach copies of any appraisals.” On exemptions, they say “Report the value of real estate without reducing it for homestead or other exemption”. Funeral and administration costs are a separate topic, covered on the funeral costs and the estate page.
Where it goes next
Each schedule feeds one item of Part V, the recapitulation, on the form. The form’s caption for this schedule reads “Total real estate. Schedule A, line 4”. The Part V instructions list which schedules to attach: “Schedules A, B, and C, of Form 706, if the gross estate includes any (1) real estate, (2) stocks and bonds, or (3) mortgages, notes, and cash, respectively.” The same instructions say “If the gross estate does not contain any assets of the type specified by a given item, enter zero for that item.” They add “Entering zero for any of items 1 through 9 is a statement by the executor, made under penalties of perjury, that the gross estate does not contain any includible assets covered by that item.”
For the alternate value column, the Part V instructions say not to enter amounts there “unless you elected alternate valuation on Part III, line 1.” That election is explained on the Part III elections page and the alternate valuation date page, and the recapitulation is covered on the Parts 4 and 5 page. The return itself is explained on the Form 706 page.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the Form 706 revision dated August 2025 and the Instructions for Form 706 revision dated July 2026. They are the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18, byte-identical to the archived copies used here. The instructions state “For decedents dying after December 31, 2025.” The form itself says “To be filed for decedents dying after December 31, 2024.” Check the revision date printed on your Form 706 and the instruction edition for the year of death, and use the line numbers on that revision.
Common mistakes
- Listing a parcel with only a street address. The instructions require enough detail that “the IRS can easily locate it for inspection and valuation.”
- Entering the equity instead of the full value when the estate is liable on the mortgage. The instruction is “you must report the full value of the property under column (v), Value at date of death.”
- Filing a value with no support. The instructions say to “attach copies of any appraisals.”
Related: Form 706, alternate valuation date, and funeral costs and the estate.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 706 (Rev. July 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i706.pdf
- Form 706 (Rev. August 2025), United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f706.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.