Losing a spouse is hard enough as it is, and then dealing with taxes on top of that can be confusing. So, we’re going to walk you through your next steps tax-wise, including your tax status.
TAX STATUS
The IRS offers some tax relief to ease the financial burden of losing a spouse. In the tax year that you lose your spouse, you can file a joint tax return as the surviving spouse. This allows you to keep all of the benefits of a married filing jointly (MFJ) return during that tax year.
For the next two tax years following the death of your spouse, you may be eligible to use the status of qualifying widow(er) with a dependent child.
The qualifying widow(er) tax status allows you to have the same standard deduction as an MFJ tax status and follows the same tax brackets as MFJ. This special filing status helps widows and widowers that qualify by providing a two-year transition to their new tax status.
See the standard deductions for each tax status below:
| FILING STATUS | 2021 TAX YEAR |
| Single | $12,550 |
| Married, filing jointly | $25,100 |
| Married, filing separately | $12,550 |
| Head of Household | $18,800 |
See the tax brackets for each tax status below:
| Regular Income Tax Rate | Taxable Income, Single | Taxable Income, Married Filing Separately | Taxable Income, Head of Household | Taxable Income, Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er) |
| 10% | $0 to $9,950 | $0 to $9,950 | $0 to $14,200 | $0 to $19,900 |
| 12% | $9,951 to $40,525 | $9,951 to $40,525 | $14,201 to $54,200 | $19,901 to $81,050 |
| 22% | $40,526 to $86,375 | $40,526 to $86,375 | $54,201 to $86,350 | $81,051 to $172,750 |
| 24% | $86,376 to $164,925 | $86,376 to $164,925 | $86,351 to $164,900 | $172,751 to $329,850 |
| 32% | $164,926 to $209,425 | $164,926 to $209,425 | $164,901 to $209,400 | $329,851 to $418,850 |
| 35% | $209,426 to $523,600 | $209,426 to $314,150 | $209,401 to $523,600 | $418,851 to $628,300 |
| 37% | $523,601 or more | $314,151 or more | $523,601 or more | $628,301 or more |
QUALIFYING RULES
In order to claim the qualifying widow(er) tax status, the following rules must apply to you:
- The taxpayer’s spouse must have died during either of the two immediately preceding tax years.
- The taxpayer was eligible to file as married filing jointly with their spouse the year that the spouse died.
- The taxpayer hasn’t remarried before the end of the current tax year.
- The taxpayer maintains a home for at least one child dependent. The dependent must live with the taxpayer the entire year except for temporary absences, like living at school for a period of time. The child must be a son, daughter, stepson, or stepdaughter by blood or through adoption. Foster children aren’t included, nor are any other types of dependents.
- The taxpayer pays more than half the cost of maintaining the home for the tax year.
EXAMPLES
If the death occurred in 2021, then the surviving spouse would file a joint tax return with their deceased spouse for the 2021 tax year (as long as the surviving spouse doesn’t remarry). If the surviving spouse qualifies for qualifying widow(er) status, then they can claim qualifying widow(er) for the 2022 and 2023 tax years.
For the 2024 tax year, the surviving spouse will need to use another filing status, such as single, head of household, or married depending on their current circumstances.
Stay informed this tax season with tax tips from the Better Than Yesterday blog!
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