1041 estate return

parent passed away this year. he had a variable annuity, ira, and a sep. other than that all he gets is a w-2 at the end of the year. do i need to file a 1041 federal tax return. we live in texas, no state taxes. the variable annuity pays a death benefit, parent hasnt drawn anything from the annuity, and the ira will be inherited by sons, and also the sep. thanks a lot.

It depends on the GROSS estate (the amount of assets added up). For 2009, that FEDERAL amount is $3.5 million. Texas requires you to file an additional STATE estate tax return IF you are required to file a federal return.

Here is where you can compare what you have with the requirements for Texas:

http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxpubs/tx96_127.html

Hope this helps!