December 20, 2018

Widow(er)s get help for the IRS

Widow(er)s are eligible to file a joint income tax return with your deceased spouse for the year the death occurred (assuming you have not remarried). Also, for the next two years, you may be eligible for special benefits as a "qualifying widower" See IRS Publication 501 for details. https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-501
Click on the Publication 501 link in the website to get a PDF. It says it's for filing 2017 returns but the website indicates there are no recent changes. See page 9 of the PDF for "Qualifying Widower" status.
"This filing status entitles you to use joint return tax rates and the highest standard deduction amount (if you don't itemize deductions) for the two years following the year of spouse's death.

So you can file a joint return for the year the death occurred and then use "qualifying widower" status for the following two years.

1 comment:

  1. There are a lot of points that need to be covered when you talk about trading in equity intraday tips. Money market manthan provides you accurate tips related to the stock and share market with great accuracy percentile. Our expert teams works dedicatedly in order to make intense researches and then give you calls to stock traders in NSE and BSE ensuring your profit.

    ReplyDelete

Financial Planning for Women does not sell, rent, loan, lease or otherwise provide any personal information collected at our site to any third parties.