REV-1500 Schedules: A Guide to the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Return

Overview

The 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.

Asset Schedules (A through G)

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 17.06 — report too low without an appraisal and you'll 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's 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.

Schedule F (REV-1509) — Jointly Owned Property. Assets held jointly with a non-spouse. The critical issue is the contribution rule: the entire value is presumed taxable unless the surviving joint owner can prove they contributed their own funds. A parent who adds a child to a $200,000 account creates a $200,000 taxable event if the child contributed nothing.

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's the schedule executors most often miss entirely.

Deduction Schedules (H & I)

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.

Schedule J — Where the Tax Is Computed (REV-1513)

Schedule J lists every beneficiary, their relationship to the decedent, what they receive, and the tax owed at the applicable rate. Section I covers taxable distributions. Section II covers exempt distributions (spouse, charities, government). The total flows to Line 19 of the REV-1500 — that's the bottom-line tax due.

Specialty Schedules

Most estates don't need these. Schedule K (REV-1644) handles life estates and remainder interests using IRS actuarial tables. Schedule L allows prepayment of tax on remainder interests. Schedule M (REV-1647) resolves future interest compromises. Schedule N (REV-1648) provides credits for property taxed in a prior estate. 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.

Why This Matters

The schedules look like straightforward forms. But every one of them involves classification decisions (which schedule does this asset go on?), valuation judgments (what's 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 running from the nine-month mark. In most cases, the cost of professional preparation is less than the cost of a single deficiency assessment.

Frequently Asked Questions