How to File Taxes When Your Spouse Dies

Filing a final tax return for a deceased spouse is a necessary financial obligation. The process involves determining the correct filing status, gathering specific documents, and completing the return according to IRS guidelines. This guide provides information on how to manage these tax matters.

Determining Your Filing Status

For the tax year in which your spouse passed away, you can use the Married Filing Jointly status, provided you have not remarried before the end of that year. This status allows you to combine your income for the entire year with your spouse’s income earned up to their date of death. This filing status provides a higher standard deduction and wider tax brackets compared to filing separately.

In the two years following your spouse’s death, you may be eligible for the Qualifying Surviving Spouse filing status. This status allows you to use the joint return tax rates and standard deduction. To qualify, you must meet several criteria:

• You could have filed a joint return with your spouse for the year they died.
• You have not remarried.
• You have a dependent child or stepchild who lived with you for the entire year.
• You paid for more than half the cost of keeping up the home for the year.

If you do not meet these requirements, your filing status will be either Single or, if you qualify, Head of Household. The Head of Household status has its own dependency and support requirements but offers a higher standard deduction and more favorable tax brackets than filing as Single.

Required Information and Key Tax Forms

To prepare the final tax return, you will need your spouse’s legal name, Social Security number, and date of death. The IRS does not require a copy of the death certificate with the return, but it is an important document for your records. You must collect all income and deduction information for both yourself for the full year and your spouse up to their date of death.

Common income documents include:

• W-2s for wages
• 1099-R for retirement distributions
• 1099-INT for interest income
• 1099-DIV for dividends

Two other IRS forms may be relevant. Form 1310, Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer, is used to claim a refund if there is no court-appointed estate representative. However, a surviving spouse filing a joint return does not need to file Form 1310. Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship, is filed to notify the IRS that an executor or administrator has the legal authority to act for the estate.

Completing and Submitting the Final Return

The final tax return is completed on a single Form 1040. The surviving spouse signs their name in the designated area. In the space for the other spouse’s signature, the surviving spouse writes “Filing as surviving spouse.” If a court has appointed a personal representative for the estate, that individual must sign the return; on a joint return, the surviving spouse must also sign.

When submitting a paper return, write “Deceased,” your spouse’s name, and their date of death at the top of the Form 1040. E-filing software has prompts to guide you through noting a spouse’s death and handling the signature requirements electronically.

Understanding Estate Tax Obligations

The final personal income tax return (Form 1040) is separate from estate tax filings. The final Form 1040 reports the income the decedent earned before death, while estate taxes concern the transfer of wealth from the estate to beneficiaries. The federal estate tax is reported on Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return.

For 2025, the federal estate tax exemption is $13.99 million per individual, so most estates do not owe this tax. This exemption amount is scheduled to be reduced at the end of 2025 to a level estimated to be around $7 million.

An estate may also have its own income tax obligations. If the estate generates more than $600 in gross income after the date of death, it must file Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts. This could include income from assets like savings accounts or stock dividends earned by the estate before distribution. Some states also have separate estate or inheritance taxes with much lower exemption amounts, so you should check the rules for your specific location.