Filing Widower
Filing As Widow(er)
Qualified widow or widower
WHO CAN USE IT:
People who lost a spouse recently and are supporting a child at home.
HOW IT WORKS:
You have time. If your spouse died during the tax year and you could’ve used the “married filing jointly” status before his or her death (even if you didn’t actually file jointly), you can file jointly in the year your spouse died. Then, for the next two years you can use the qualified widow or widower status if you have a dependent child. For example, if your spouse died in 2017 and you haven’t remarried, you can file jointly in 2017 and then file as a qualified widow or widower (also called “surviving spouse”) in 2018 and 2019.
The kids are key. If the kids are already out of the house when your spouse dies, this status probably won’t work for you, because you have to have a qualifying child living with you. You also have to provide more than half of the cost of keeping up the house during the tax year.
WHAT IT GETS YOU:
The qualified widow or widower status lets you file as if you were married filing jointly. That gets you a much higher standard deduction and better tax bracket situation than if you filed as single.