Can a personal representative of an estate use their tax id number on an interest bearing estate account?

No, the funds in the decedent's estate belong to the estate; the estate needs an employer identification number of its own.

From IRS Revenue Procedure 84-73: Payors of interest must use the identifying number of the person to whom the account is payable in reporting interest on Form 1099. If the interest is payable to an estate, under Rev. Rul. 64-99 the administrator or executor must furnish the estate's employer identification number, not the decedent's social security number to the payor.

A revenue ruling has force of law -- it is not a suggestion or a request. This one was issued in 1984, but relates back to another issued in 1964. This is not a recent development.

First published on BankersOnline.com 9/16/02