In accordance with the Sec. 159 of the Income Tax Law, if an assessee unfortunately dies before filing the income tax return of any year in which a filing requirement exists, it becomes the liability of the spouse/legal representative/executor to file the income tax return and pay-off any remaining tax dues of the deceased assessee. A deceased person is entitled to all the deductions and exemptions for the entire year, but tax is levied only on the income earned till his/her death. However, the return of the deceased would include income till the date of death of assessee, hereafter the income would be taxable in the hands of the legal heir and included in his return of income. On the death of the assessee, the income from his/her assets and the tax liability is transferred to his/her legal heirs. So the filing of tax returns becomes the responsibility of the Legal Heir (LH). This means the legal heir can file the tax returns on behalf of the deceased assessee.ADA Team has summarized the provisions in this regard in above attachment: