Estate Planning & Administration
REV-1500 PA Inheritance Tax: Schedule-by-Schedule Guide
Last updated July 2026
✓ Verified Jul. 2026The REV-1500 is a three-page cover document. The substance is in the schedules, each one a separate form with its own REV number. You only file the schedules that apply to the estate. Most Bucks County estates file at minimum Schedules A or E, H, I, and J. For tax rates, deadlines, and the 5% discount , see our complete inheritance tax guide.
Schedules A through G report everything the estate owns or has transferred. Each has its own valuation rules and classification traps.
Schedule A (REV-1502). Real Estate. Pennsylvania real estate held solely or as a tenant-in-common, reported at fair market value as of the date of death. The Department cross-checks reported values against the county assessment multiplied by the Common Level Ratio . In Bucks County, the CLR is currently 17.86 (July 2026 to June 2027): report too low without an appraisal and you will get a deficiency notice. Spousal joint property held over one year is exempt. Out-of-state real estate is exempt. Retained life estates go on Schedule G, not here.
Schedule B (REV-1503): Stocks & Bonds. Publicly traded securities valued at the mean between high and low trading prices on the date of death, not the date you looked it up. Weekend and holiday deaths require weighted averaging across adjacent trading days.
Schedule C (REV-1504): Closely Held Business Interests. The decedent's interest in any corporation, partnership, LLC, or sole proprietorship. Requires supplemental schedules C-1 (REV-1505) and C-2 (REV-1506) with detailed financials. Valuation disputes, especially around marketability and minority discounts, are among the most common sources of inheritance tax litigation.
Schedule D (REV-1507): Mortgages & Notes Receivable. Debts owed to the decedent, not the decedent's own mortgage (that is a deduction on Schedule I). Private mortgages, promissory notes, and loans the decedent made to others.
Schedule E (REV-1508): Cash, Bank Accounts & Personal Property. The catch-all: checking and savings accounts, CDs, vehicles, household furnishings, jewelry, collections, and life insurance payable to the estate . Everything at date-of-death value. Life insurance with a named individual beneficiary goes on Schedule G instead, a common point of confusion. Severed oil, gas, and mineral rights are also reported here on Schedule E; see inheriting oil, gas, and mineral rights in Pennsylvania for how those interests are valued.
Schedule F (REV-1509): Jointly Owned Property. Assets held jointly with a non-spouse. The critical issue is the fractional-share rule under 72 P.S. § 9108: the taxable transfer is the decedent's fractional portion, computed by dividing the whole value by the number of joint owners, without regard to who contributed the funds. A parent who adds one child to a $200,000 account creates a $100,000 taxable transfer (one-half). One exception: if the joint ownership was created within one year of death, the entire interest is taxable as a transfer of the decedent who created it.
Schedule G (REV-1510): Inter-Vivos Transfers & Non-Probate Property. Often the most complex schedule and the one most likely to generate a deficiency notice. It captures retirement accounts with named beneficiaries (taxable, even though they bypass probate), life insurance with named beneficiaries, revocable trusts, retained life estates, transfers within one year of death, and POD/TOD accounts. For many estates, Schedule G contains the largest single tax liability, and it is the schedule executors most often miss entirely.
Schedule H (REV-1511): Funeral & Administrative Expenses. Deductions that reduce the taxable estate: funeral costs, executor commissions , attorney and accounting fees, appraisal costs, court costs, and bond premiums. The Department requires that all claimed expenses be "reasonable", and will verify against the final accounting.
Schedule I (REV-1512): Debts, Mortgages & Liens. The decedent's outstanding obligations at death: mortgage balances, credit cards, medical bills, taxes owed. Only legally enforceable debts are deductible. Mortgage debt on exempt spousal property is not deductible. Medicaid recovery claims from DHS are reported here if asserted.
One misclassified asset or a low Schedule A value can trigger a deficiency notice with tax plus interest from nine months after death. I prepare and file REV-1500 returns and catch these traps before they cost the estate.
Schedule J lists every beneficiary, their relationship to the decedent, and the amount or share each receives. It does not compute the tax owed per beneficiary. Section I covers taxable distributions. Section II covers exempt distributions (spouse, charities, government). The Section II total flows to Line 13 of the REV-1500, and the taxable distribution amounts flow to Lines 15 through 18 of the cover sheet, where the rate classes are applied. Line 19 (Tax Due) is the cover-sheet sum of Lines 15 through 18, that is the bottom-line tax due.
Most estates do not need these. Schedule K (REV-1514) handles life estates and remainder interests using IRS actuarial tables. Schedule L (REV-1644) is the Remainder Prepayment / Invasion of Trust Corpus schedule, allowing prepayment of tax on remainder interests. Schedule M (REV-1647) resolves future interest compromises. Schedule N (REV-1648) is the Spousal Poverty Credit, available only for deaths from January 1, 1992 through December 31, 1994. Schedule O (REV-1649) covers the spousal trust election under 72 P.S. § 9113(a). Schedule AU (REV-1197) handles special agricultural use valuation for qualifying farmland.
The schedules look like straightforward forms. But every one involves classification decisions (which schedule does this asset go on?), valuation judgments (what is the correct date-of-death value?), and documentation requirements (what does the Department need to see?). Getting any of those wrong results in a deficiency notice: additional tax, plus interest accruing from nine months and one day after the decedent's date of death. The cost of professional preparation is usually less than the cost of a single deficiency assessment.
No. You only file the schedules that apply. If the decedent had no real estate, skip Schedule A. If there were no lifetime transfers or non-probate assets, skip Schedule G. Leave the corresponding line on the REV-1500 cover page blank.
The Department cross-checks your value against the county assessment multiplied by the Common Level Ratio. In Bucks County, the CLR is 17.86 (July 2026 through June 2027). Report below that computed value without appraisal support and you will receive a deficiency notice with additional tax plus interest.
Yes. IRAs, 401(k)s, and pensions with named beneficiaries must be reported on Schedule G. They are taxable at the applicable rate based on the beneficiary's relationship to the decedent. This is the item executors most commonly overlook.
Do not file a REV-1500 on a guess. I prepare and file inheritance tax returns for estates in Bucks County and the surrounding counties, and I make sure every asset lands on the right schedule. Call 215-949-0888 or request a free consultation .
Statutory content on this page was last verified against Pennsylvania statutes (20 Pa.C.S.; 72 P.S. Art. XXI): Jul. 2026. If you are reading this significantly after that date, confirm key provisions with current statute text or contact our office.
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