Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Form 8855 is due by the due date of the first Form 1041 for the related estate, including extensions. The election period runs from the date of death until the earlier of two events. If a filing trustee made the election and an executor is appointed later, a new form marked AMENDED ELECTION is filed within 90 days.
When to file
“File the election by the due date (including extensions, if any) of the Form 1041 (or Form 1040-NR, if applicable) for the first tax year of the related estate (or the filing trust).” The instructions say the deadline applies “even if the combined related estate and electing trust(s) don’t have sufficient income to be required to file Form 1041.” They also give the usual date: “In general, the due date for the first income tax return is the 15th day of the 4th month after the close of the first tax year of the related estate.” With an extension: “If the estate is granted an extension of time to file its income tax return for its first tax year, the due date of the Form 8855 is the extended due date.” Return dates are explained on the Form 1041 due date and extension page, and the form on the Form 8855 page.
Where to file
The instructions have a “Where To File” chart. It lists the IRS addresses by groups of states and a separate row for filers in a foreign country or a U.S. possession. Use the row for your location on the revision you hold. This page does not copy the chart, because the addresses belong to the form revision.
The election period
“The election period is the period of time during which an electing trust is treated and taxed as part of its related estate.” “The election period begins on the date of the decedent’s death and terminates on the earlier of:” “The day on which each electing trust and the related estate, if any, have distributed all of their assets; or” or “The day before the applicable date.”
To find the applicable date, “you must first determine whether a Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, is required to be filed as a result of the decedent’s death.” The instructions then give the date in a table, which you should read on your own copy. The return itself is explained on the Form 706 page. Once the election is made, “it cannot be revoked.”
AMENDED ELECTION: when an executor is appointed later
“If Form 8855 was filed by the filing trustee because there was no executor and an executor is subsequently appointed, an amended election must be timely made.” “Otherwise, the election period terminates the day before the executor is appointed.”
“The executor and the trustees of each electing trust complete and file a new Form 8855 and write” AMENDED ELECTION “at the top of the form.” On timing: “File an amended Form 8855 within 90 days of the appointment of the executor.”
The Form 1041 instructions say the executor “must agree to the trustee’s election” and “If the executor doesn’t agree to the election, the election terminates as of the date of appointment of the executor.” For returns already filed: “See the Instructions for Form 1041 and Regulations section 1.645-1 for information on amending the previously filed returns.”
What to enter and where it comes from
The dates in this part come from records the executor or trustee holds: the date of death, the first tax year the related estate adopts, and the date the court appointed the executor. The part-by-part entries are on the Part I page and the Parts II and III page. Keep proof of filing: the instructions say to “retain proof that the Form 8855 was timely filed.”
Where it goes next
The election is mailed to the address in the chart. The Form 1041 instructions say the election’s other effect shows up on the return: “If a section 645 election was made by filing Form 8855, check the box in item G(1).”
Edition and line numbers
This page reads Form 8855 as revised December 2020. It is the current file irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. The form is marked “(Rev. December 2020)” and each page footer carries the same revision. Check the revision date printed on your own Form 8855 and use that revision’s line and part numbers, because a different revision can word or number them differently.
Common mistakes
- Waiting because the estate has little income. The instructions say the deadline applies “even if the combined related estate and electing trust(s) don’t have sufficient income to be required to file Form 1041.”
- Forgetting the new form when an executor is appointed later. The instructions say “File an amended Form 8855 within 90 days of the appointment of the executor.”
- Leaving the label off the amended form. The instructions say to write AMENDED ELECTION “at the top of the form.”
Related: Form 8855, Form 1041 due date and extension, Form 706, Form 8855 Part I, and Form 8855 Parts II and III.
Sources
- Form 8855, Election To Treat a Qualified Revocable Trust as Part of an Estate (Rev. December 2020): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8855.pdf
- Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1041.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.