Is the Personal Representative of an Estate personally liable for taxes of the decedent?

If a decedent dies owing taxes, the IRS must file a claim for the taxes owed just as any other creditor must. They have eight months from the posting of the Notice To Creditors or one year after the death of the decedent, whichever occurs first, to file the claim. They can collect out of the estate assets, but not from the Personal Representative’s personal assets. If there is not enough money to pay the taxes, the taxes will become uncollectible and be discharged. The only exception to this is that the Personal Representative cannot prematurely take assets out of the estate before all debts are paid. If he does, he can be held liable for the estate debts, at least up to the amount of assets he removed prematurely.