Question

Filing Jointly after a spouse passes away

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
September 27, 2023
1 reply
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My spouse passed away in July 2022. Do file jointly for 2022? Will TruboTax help me with this issue when preparing my taxes?

Ask the Experts - Extension - Sept 2023

EleanoreS

Good day @Mariegree

I am sorry for the loss of your spouse. There are many new challenges to navigate including taxes.

If your husband passed at any time in 2022, you are still considered married for the entire year. You can file either married joint and include your spouse's income and expenses or you can file married separate and only include your own income and expenses. It is generally more beneficial to file married joint.

Here is an article that provides additional information about tax filings after your spouse has died.

Again, my sincere condolences on the loss of your spouse.

Thank you for reaching out to the TurboTax Community.

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M

MariegreeAuthor

Would I then file "single" or another type of "not married" in the year(s) subsequent to my spouse's death?

VolvoGirl

Employee

Yes Single. You can file a Joint return the year your spouse died. For the next two years following a husband's or wife's death, the surviving spouse can file as a qualifying widow or widower if they have a qualifying child. That basically lets you continue to use the same tax brackets that apply to married-filing-jointly returns. After the year of death if you don't have a child you file as Single.

And then you should start over and set up a new account for yourself and not transfer from last year. You will have to re enter any prior carryovers and depreciation, etc. manually.