Arizona Form 141AZ is the state’s fiduciary income tax return, used by estates and trusts to report income, claim deductions, and pay tax to the Arizona Department of Revenue. A fiduciary must file it whenever the estate or trust has any Arizona taxable income, or gross income of $5,000 or more during the tax year.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 43-304 – Fiduciary Returns The return is due by the 15th day of the fourth month after the tax year closes, and the fiduciary is personally responsible for filing it, paying what’s owed, and getting income statements to the beneficiaries.
Who Has to File
Under Arizona Revised Statutes ยง 43-304, a fiduciary must file Form 141AZ if the estate or trust meets either of two tests during the tax year:
- Any Arizona taxable income after deductions, even one dollar.
- Gross income of $5,000 or more, no matter what the taxable amount looks like after deductions.
These thresholds apply to both resident and nonresident estates and trusts.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 43-304 – Fiduciary Returns Bankruptcy estates that hit the $5,000 gross income mark file as well.2Arizona Department of Revenue. Arizona Form 141AZ – 2025 Arizona Fiduciary Income Tax Return Instructions For a nonresident estate or trust, income distributed to a nonresident beneficiary counts as Arizona-source only when it came from income the entity itself earned inside the state.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 43-1093 – Nonresident Beneficiary of Estate or Trust Income
Filing Deadline and Extensions
For a calendar-year estate or trust, Form 141AZ is due April 15 of the year after the tax year ends. A fiscal-year filer moves the deadline to the 15th day of the fourth month after its own year closes.4Arizona Department of Revenue. Fiduciary Income Tax Highlights
Arizona automatically honors a valid federal extension. For fiduciary returns that means an extra five and a half months, so a calendar-year filer with a federal extension has until September 30 to file the Arizona return.5Arizona Department of Revenue. Arizona Fiduciary Tax Ruling FTR 17-1
The extension is only for paperwork. At least 90% of the tax liability has to be paid by the original due date, or Arizona charges an extension underpayment penalty on top of whatever balance is still due.6Arizona Department of Revenue. Making Payments and Filing Extensions If cash is tight, pay the estimate and file later; don’t do it the other way around.
How the Tax Is Calculated
Arizona builds on the federal return. The starting figure on Form 141AZ is the taxable income from IRS Form 1041, and the fiduciary then applies Arizona-specific additions and subtractions.
Typical additions include interest from bonds issued by other states, which Arizona taxes even though the federal government doesn’t, and certain depreciation differences between federal and Arizona rules. Typical subtractions include interest on U.S. government obligations and state income tax refunds already sitting in federal income.2Arizona Department of Revenue. Arizona Form 141AZ – 2025 Arizona Fiduciary Income Tax Return Instructions Income distributed to beneficiaries during the year reduces the entity’s taxable income, because that income shifts onto the beneficiaries’ own returns.
Arizona taxes what remains at a flat 2.5%. Under HB 2918, passed in 2025, the rate drops to 2.47% for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.7Arizona Legislature. HB2918 – Senate Fact Sheet
One boundary worth knowing: Arizona does not require estates or trusts to make estimated income tax payments. A fiduciary who wants to pay in installments can use Form 141AZ-ES, but there’s no penalty for waiting until the return is filed.8Arizona Department of Revenue. Form 141AZ-ES Instructions Federal rules are different, so a fiduciary filing Form 1041 may still owe federal estimates even when Arizona asks for none.
What to Gather Before You File
The federal Form 1041 comes first, since the Arizona figures flow from it. Beyond that, pull together:
- The estate or trust’s EIN, not the fiduciary’s Social Security number.
- The legal name of the entity, matching the federal return exactly.
- The fiduciary’s full name, title, and mailing address.
- Income records: interest, dividends, business income, capital gains and losses, and rental income.
- Distribution records for every payment made to a beneficiary during the year, since these become deductions.
- Records of any income tax paid to another state, which may support a credit.
Download the current tax year’s Form 141AZ and instructions from the Arizona Department of Revenue.9Arizona Department of Revenue. Arizona Fiduciary Income Tax Return Line numbers and adjustment rules change year to year, so reusing an old version is a common way to make avoidable mistakes.
Schedule K-1 for Beneficiaries
Arizona has its own Schedule K-1 (Form 141AZ Schedule K-1), separate from the federal one. The fiduciary completes one for each resident or part-year resident beneficiary, showing that person’s share of income, deductions, and credits from the estate or trust.10Arizona Department of Revenue. Form 141AZ Schedule K-1 Instructions One copy goes to the beneficiary, one is filed with Form 141AZ, and one stays in the entity’s records.
Beneficiaries need the K-1 to prepare their own Arizona returns, so it should go out by the same deadline as Form 141AZ. Tracking each beneficiary’s share during the year is easier than reconstructing the allocation at filing time, especially with multiple beneficiaries.
How to File Form 141AZ
Arizona accepts Form 141AZ through approved e-file software, and electronic filing is not required for fiduciary returns. Paper filing is still available.
The paper mailing address depends on whether a payment is enclosed:
- With payment: Arizona Department of Revenue, PO Box 52016, Phoenix, AZ 85072-2016.
- Refund, no tax due, or no payment enclosed: Arizona Department of Revenue, PO Box 52138, Phoenix, AZ 85072-2138.
The same addresses cover both original and amended returns.11Arizona Department of Revenue. Arizona Fiduciary Income Tax Return If you mail a return with a check, keep a copy of the return, a photo of the check, and proof of mailing. Certified mail with a return receipt costs little and settles any dispute over whether the department received the filing.
Late Filing and Late Payment Penalties
Arizona imposes separate penalties for filing late and paying late, and they can run at the same time.
- Late filing: 4.5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the return is overdue, up to a 25% cap.
- Late payment: 0.5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the payment is late, up to a 10% cap.
Both can be waived if the fiduciary shows reasonable cause rather than willful neglect.12Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 42-1125 – Civil Penalties; Definition In practice, reasonable cause means something genuinely outside the fiduciary’s control, such as serious illness or destruction of records in a disaster. Heavy workload or unfamiliarity with the deadline does not qualify.
Interest accrues on unpaid tax from the original due date, separate from the penalties. If the return will be late, paying as much of the estimated tax as possible by the deadline limits the late-payment penalty to whatever remains unpaid.13Arizona Department of Revenue. Filing Notices of Penalties and Interest Paying 100% on time and filing a month late holds the damage to the filing penalty alone.