My brother died on May 27, 2016. I got an EIN for his estate. The SS-4 says I must file a 1041 by 4-15-2017. Can I elect a different fiscal year end for the estate?

Please let us first express our condolences on the passing of your brother.  You have our sympathies.

The answer to your tax question is certainly, yes.  As the executor or personal representative of an estate, you may elect any fiscal year-end you wish, for the Form 1041 Estate income tax return, provided that it ends on the last day of the month and does not exceed a total of (12) months in length.

How do you do this?  Well, the election of a fiscal year-end is made through the filing of the initial estate income tax return, on Page 1 of Form 1041 itself.  As you very correctly point out in your question, the Form 1041 tax return is due three months and 15 days after the elected year-end, so it is important to address this election early in the administrative process.

However, even if the attorney or accountant (or you, as the estate's representative) prepared the SS-4 (application for Employer Identification Number, or EIN) and filed it originally with a December 31st fiscal year-end in mind, you can still now make a different fiscal year-end election, at the time you file the initial Form 1041.

In other words, the executor of the estate is not held to or bound by the fiscal year-end date indicated on the original SS-4 application.  Thus, you may select any year-end that you like and that accommodates the needs of the estate.  Choosing July 1 through June 30, where a DOD was in the month of May, seems like a perfectly reasonable and normal. period.

Thank you for asking this important question, and once again we are sorry for your family's loss.